CVE-2025-49176 is a high-severity integer overflow vulnerability identified in the Big Requests extension of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 10. The flaw arises because the request length parameter is multiplied by 4 before the system checks whether it exceeds the maximum allowed size. This multiplication can cause an integer overflow or wraparound, effectively bypassing the size validation check. As a result, an attacker can craft a specially malformed request that appears to be within acceptable size limits but actually exceeds them once the overflow occurs. This can lead to memory corruption, potentially allowing the attacker to execute arbitrary code, cause denial of service, or escalate privileges. The vulnerability requires local access with low privileges (AV:L, PR:L), does not require user interaction (UI:N), and affects confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:L/I:H/A:H). The CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.3 reflects these factors, indicating a high severity. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, but the presence of this vulnerability in a widely used enterprise Linux distribution makes it a significant risk once exploit code becomes available. The lack of patch links suggests that a fix may be pending or recently released, so timely patching is critical. The vulnerability is specific to RHEL 10, which is commonly deployed in enterprise environments for critical infrastructure and applications.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a substantial risk, especially for those relying on RHEL 10 in their server infrastructure, including data centers, cloud environments, and critical operational technology systems. Exploitation could lead to unauthorized code execution, data breaches, or service outages, impacting business continuity and regulatory compliance under frameworks such as GDPR. Given the local access requirement, insider threats or compromised user accounts could be leveraged to exploit this flaw. The high impact on integrity and availability means that attackers could manipulate or disrupt critical services, potentially affecting sectors like finance, healthcare, manufacturing, and government operations across Europe. The absence of known exploits currently provides a window for proactive mitigation, but the vulnerability’s nature suggests that once exploit techniques are developed, attacks could escalate rapidly.

European organizations should prioritize the following specific actions: 1) Immediately verify if RHEL 10 systems are deployed and identify all instances where the Big Requests extension is enabled or used. 2) Monitor Red Hat advisories closely for official patches or updates addressing CVE-2025-49176 and apply them promptly once available. 3) Implement strict access controls and monitoring to limit local access to trusted users only, reducing the risk of exploitation by low-privilege accounts. 4) Employ host-based intrusion detection systems (HIDS) and anomaly detection to identify unusual request sizes or patterns that could indicate exploitation attempts. 5) Conduct internal audits and penetration testing focused on this vulnerability to assess exposure and validate mitigation effectiveness. 6) Harden system configurations by disabling unnecessary extensions or services related to the Big Requests extension if feasible. 7) Educate system administrators and security teams about this vulnerability to ensure rapid response and incident handling. These targeted measures go beyond generic patching advice by emphasizing access control, monitoring, and configuration hardening specific to the vulnerability’s exploitation vector.