CVE-2025-54472 is a vulnerability classified under CWE-400 (Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) and CWE-190 (Integer Overflow) affecting Apache bRPC, a high-performance RPC framework developed by the Apache Software Foundation. The flaw exists in the Redis protocol parser component of bRPC versions before 1.14.1, where memory allocation for arrays or strings is determined by integers read directly from network packets. If an attacker sends a specially crafted Redis protocol message with an excessively large integer value, the parser attempts to allocate an unbounded amount of memory, which can cause a bad_alloc error or crash the service, resulting in a denial-of-service condition. The initial attempt to fix this in version 1.14.0 introduced a memory allocation limit, but due to improper integer overflow checks, the limitation could be bypassed, leaving that version vulnerable as well. The vulnerability applies both when bRPC is used as a Redis server accepting requests from untrusted clients and when used as a Redis client connecting to untrusted Redis servers. The patch introduced caps the maximum memory allocation per request to 64MB by default, configurable via the redis_max_allocation_size flag to accommodate legitimate large requests. Exploitation requires no authentication or user interaction and can be performed remotely over the network, making it a critical availability risk. No known exploits are reported in the wild yet, but the vulnerability is publicly disclosed and rated with a CVSS 3.1 score of 7.5, indicating high severity.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to the availability of services relying on Apache bRPC for Redis protocol communication. A successful exploitation can cause service crashes and denial-of-service, disrupting critical applications such as caching layers, session stores, or distributed data processing that depend on Redis interactions through bRPC. This can lead to operational downtime, degraded user experience, and potential cascading failures in microservices architectures. Organizations in sectors with high reliance on real-time data processing, financial services, telecommunications, and cloud service providers are particularly vulnerable. Additionally, if bRPC is exposed to untrusted networks or external clients without proper network segmentation or filtering, the attack surface increases substantially. The vulnerability does not impact confidentiality or integrity directly but can indirectly affect business continuity and service reliability. Given the ease of remote exploitation without authentication, the threat is elevated for any European entity using affected versions of bRPC in production environments.

European organizations should immediately assess their use of Apache bRPC, particularly in Redis-related deployments. The primary mitigation is to upgrade all bRPC instances to version 1.14.1 or later, which contains a robust fix for the uncontrolled memory allocation issue. If upgrading is not immediately feasible, organizations should apply the official patch from the Apache bRPC GitHub repository (PR #3050) to enforce memory allocation limits. It is critical to review and adjust the redis_max_allocation_size configuration flag if legitimate Redis requests or responses exceed the default 64MB limit to avoid service disruptions post-patch. Network-level mitigations include restricting access to bRPC services to trusted clients only, implementing strict firewall rules, and deploying intrusion detection/prevention systems to monitor for anomalous Redis protocol traffic. Additionally, organizations should conduct thorough testing in staging environments to validate the patch and configuration changes before production deployment. Monitoring service logs for memory allocation errors or crashes can help detect attempted exploitation. Finally, maintaining up-to-date software inventories and vulnerability management processes will ensure timely response to similar future threats.