CVE-2025-53884 identifies a security vulnerability in SUSE's NeuVector product version 5.0.0, where user passwords and API keys are stored using a one-way hash function without the use of a cryptographic salt. The absence of a salt means that identical passwords produce identical hashes, making the system vulnerable to rainbow table attacks. Rainbow tables are precomputed tables of hash values for commonly used passwords, allowing attackers to reverse-engineer the original password from the hash efficiently. Since the hashing is unsalted, attackers who gain access to the hashed credentials can perform offline attacks to recover passwords or API keys, potentially compromising user accounts or API access. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-759, which highlights the use of one-way hashes without salts as a poor security practice. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 5.3 (medium severity), with the vector indicating that the attack can be performed remotely (AV:N), with low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), no user interaction (UI:N), and impacts confidentiality only (C:L), without affecting integrity or availability. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches have been linked yet. This vulnerability primarily threatens the confidentiality of stored credentials, enabling attackers to potentially escalate privileges or access sensitive systems if hashes are obtained.

For European organizations using SUSE NeuVector 5.0.0, this vulnerability poses a risk to the confidentiality of user credentials and API keys. If an attacker gains access to the hashed password or API key database—through other means such as misconfiguration, insider threat, or secondary vulnerabilities—they can leverage rainbow table attacks to recover plaintext credentials. This could lead to unauthorized access to container security management functions, API misuse, or lateral movement within the network. Given NeuVector's role in container security and runtime protection, compromise could undermine the security posture of containerized environments, which are increasingly common in European enterprises. Although the vulnerability does not directly affect integrity or availability, the exposure of credentials can facilitate further attacks that may impact these areas. The medium severity rating reflects that exploitation requires access to hashed credentials but no additional privileges or user interaction. Organizations in regulated sectors such as finance, healthcare, and critical infrastructure in Europe could face compliance and reputational risks if credential compromise leads to data breaches.

Immediate mitigation should focus on updating the credential storage mechanism to incorporate cryptographic salts combined with a strong, slow hashing algorithm such as bcrypt, scrypt, or Argon2. This change will significantly increase the difficulty of offline attacks by ensuring unique hashes per credential. Until a patch is available, organizations should enforce strict access controls and monitoring on systems storing hashed credentials to prevent unauthorized access. Additionally, implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) for NeuVector user accounts and API access to reduce the impact of credential compromise. Regularly audit and rotate API keys and passwords to limit exposure time. Network segmentation and least privilege principles should be applied to restrict access to NeuVector management interfaces. Finally, organizations should monitor threat intelligence sources for any emerging exploits related to this vulnerability and apply patches promptly once released by SUSE.