CVE-2025-53960 identifies a cryptographic weakness in Apache StreamPark, an open-source data streaming and processing platform maintained by the Apache Software Foundation. The vulnerability arises from the use of weak encryption keys that are either fixed or generated directly from user passwords without adequate cryptographic strengthening mechanisms such as salting or key stretching. This flawed implementation violates secure cryptographic practices (CWE-1240) and exposes encrypted data to compromise. Attackers can obtain these weak keys through reverse engineering of the application binaries, code leaks, or by guessing user passwords, enabling them to decrypt sensitive data that should otherwise remain confidential. The affected versions range from 2.0.0 up to but not including 2.1.7, with the issue resolved in the 2.1.7 release. Although no active exploits have been reported, the vulnerability poses a significant risk due to the potential exposure of sensitive data in transit or at rest. The lack of a CVSS score suggests this is a newly published vulnerability, but its nature indicates a high risk to confidentiality. The vulnerability does not require user interaction but may require attacker access to the application environment or encrypted data. This flaw undermines the integrity of the cryptographic protection and could facilitate further attacks if sensitive credentials or business-critical data are exposed.

For European organizations, this vulnerability threatens the confidentiality of sensitive data processed or stored by Apache StreamPark. Organizations in sectors such as finance, telecommunications, healthcare, and critical infrastructure that rely on StreamPark for real-time data processing could face data breaches if attackers exploit this weakness. Exposure of sensitive information could lead to regulatory penalties under GDPR, reputational damage, and operational disruptions. The ability to decrypt data may also facilitate lateral movement within networks or enable further exploitation of other systems. Since Apache StreamPark is used in data-intensive environments, the scope of impact can be broad, affecting multiple data streams and stored datasets. The absence of known exploits currently limits immediate risk, but the ease of key compromise through common attack vectors like password guessing or reverse engineering elevates the threat level. Organizations with inadequate internal security controls or outdated software versions are particularly vulnerable.

European organizations should immediately upgrade Apache StreamPark to version 2.1.7 or later, where this vulnerability is fixed. Beyond patching, organizations should audit their cryptographic key management practices to ensure keys are generated using strong, salted, and iterated password-based key derivation functions (e.g., PBKDF2, Argon2). Implement strict access controls to limit exposure of application binaries and encrypted data to unauthorized users. Employ application hardening techniques such as code obfuscation to reduce the risk of reverse engineering. Conduct regular security assessments and penetration testing focused on cryptographic implementations. Additionally, monitor logs and network traffic for unusual access patterns that could indicate attempts to exploit this vulnerability. Where feasible, segregate sensitive data processing environments and enforce multi-factor authentication to reduce the risk of credential compromise. Finally, ensure incident response plans include procedures for cryptographic key compromise scenarios.