CVE-2025-54469 is an OS command injection vulnerability classified under CWE-78, affecting SUSE NeuVector, a container security platform. The vulnerability arises because the enforcer container’s monitor process uses the popen function to execute shell commands that check the status of the consul subprocess ports. These commands are dynamically constructed using the environment variables CLUSTER_RPC_PORT and CLUSTER_LAN_PORT without any validation or sanitization. Since these environment variables can be controlled or influenced by an attacker with access to the container environment, this leads to injection of arbitrary OS commands. The vulnerability affects NeuVector versions 5.3.0, 5.4.0, and a specific build identified by 0.0.0-20230727023453-1c4957d53911. The exploitability is high because the attack vector is network accessible (AV:N), requires low privileges (PR:L), no user interaction (UI:N), and impacts confidentiality, integrity, and availability fully (C:H/I:H/A:H). The scope is changed (S:C) because the vulnerability allows an attacker to escape the container context or affect other components. Although no known exploits are reported in the wild yet, the critical CVSS score of 9.9 indicates that successful exploitation could lead to complete system compromise. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous in containerized environments where NeuVector is deployed for runtime security enforcement, as it could allow attackers to execute arbitrary commands on the host or container, potentially leading to lateral movement, data exfiltration, or service disruption.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-54469 is significant, especially for those relying on SUSE NeuVector to secure containerized workloads in cloud-native environments. Exploitation could lead to full system compromise, allowing attackers to execute arbitrary commands, escalate privileges, and disrupt critical services. This poses a severe risk to confidentiality, integrity, and availability of sensitive data and operational infrastructure. Industries such as finance, healthcare, telecommunications, and critical infrastructure operators that increasingly adopt container orchestration and runtime security solutions are particularly vulnerable. The ability to inject commands without user interaction and with low privileges increases the likelihood of automated or targeted attacks. Additionally, the potential for lateral movement within container clusters could amplify the damage. Given the widespread adoption of container technologies in Europe and the strategic importance of secure cloud deployments, this vulnerability could have far-reaching consequences if not promptly mitigated.

1. Immediately restrict or sanitize the environment variables CLUSTER_RPC_PORT and CLUSTER_LAN_PORT within the NeuVector enforcer container to prevent injection of malicious commands. 2. Apply any official patches or updates from SUSE as soon as they become available to address this vulnerability. 3. Implement strict container runtime security policies that limit the ability to modify environment variables or execute arbitrary shell commands within containers. 4. Employ container security monitoring tools to detect anomalous popen usage or suspicious command execution patterns in the enforcer container. 5. Use container image scanning and runtime protection to identify and block exploitation attempts. 6. Limit privileges of the NeuVector enforcer container to the minimum necessary, reducing the impact of potential exploitation. 7. Conduct regular security audits and penetration testing focused on container environments to identify similar injection vectors. 8. Educate DevOps and security teams about the risks of unsanitized environment variables and enforce secure coding and deployment practices. 9. Consider network segmentation and isolation of critical container workloads to contain potential breaches. 10. Monitor vendor advisories and threat intelligence feeds for emerging exploits or mitigation guidance related to this CVE.