CVE-2025-5040 is a high-severity heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability (CWE-122) affecting multiple recent versions of Autodesk Revit, specifically versions 2023 through 2026. The vulnerability arises when Autodesk Revit parses a maliciously crafted RTE file, which can trigger a heap overflow condition. This overflow can lead to memory corruption, allowing an attacker to cause a denial of service (application crash), read sensitive information from memory, or execute arbitrary code within the context of the Revit process. The CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 reflects the significant impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability, with an attack vector requiring local access (AV:L), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), but user interaction is necessary (UI:R). The vulnerability scope is unchanged (S:U), meaning the impact is limited to the vulnerable component. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches have been published yet. However, the vulnerability’s nature suggests that an attacker who can trick a user into opening or importing a malicious RTE file could compromise the system running Revit, potentially leading to full code execution or data leakage within the application context.

For European organizations, especially those in architecture, engineering, and construction sectors that rely heavily on Autodesk Revit for Building Information Modeling (BIM), this vulnerability poses a significant risk. Exploitation could lead to unauthorized disclosure of sensitive design data or intellectual property, disruption of critical project workflows due to application crashes, and potential lateral movement if code execution is achieved. Given that Revit is widely used in large infrastructure projects across Europe, including government contracts and critical infrastructure planning, the impact extends beyond business disruption to potential national security concerns. The requirement for local access and user interaction somewhat limits remote exploitation but does not eliminate risk, as spear-phishing or social engineering could be used to deliver malicious RTE files. Additionally, compromised systems could serve as footholds for further attacks within corporate networks.

European organizations should implement a multi-layered mitigation strategy: 1) Restrict the handling of RTE files to trusted sources only, employing strict file validation and sandboxing where possible. 2) Educate users on the risks of opening unsolicited or unexpected RTE files, emphasizing verification of file provenance. 3) Monitor and control local access to systems running Autodesk Revit to prevent unauthorized users from delivering malicious files. 4) Employ application whitelisting and endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to detect anomalous behavior indicative of exploitation attempts. 5) Coordinate with Autodesk for timely patch deployment once available, and consider temporary workarounds such as disabling RTE file imports if feasible. 6) Conduct regular backups of critical project data to enable recovery in case of disruption. 7) Implement network segmentation to limit potential lateral movement from compromised hosts.