CVE-2025-54537 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting JetBrains TeamCity versions prior to 2025.07. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-312, which involves the storage of sensitive information in an insecure manner. Specifically, user credentials are stored in plain text within memory snapshots. Memory snapshots are typically used for debugging or diagnostic purposes and can be accessed by users with certain privileges or through forensic analysis. Because the credentials are stored in clear text, any unauthorized access to these memory snapshots could lead to credential disclosure, compromising user accounts. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 5.5, reflecting a medium severity level. The vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N) indicates that exploitation requires local access (AV:L), low attack complexity (AC:L), and low privileges (PR:L), but no user interaction (UI:N). The impact is primarily on confidentiality (C:H), with no impact on integrity or availability. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches or mitigations have been linked yet. This vulnerability arises from insecure handling of credentials in memory, which is a critical security practice failure, especially in CI/CD environments where TeamCity is used to automate builds and deployments. Attackers with local access or the ability to obtain memory snapshots could extract credentials, potentially escalating privileges or moving laterally within an organization’s infrastructure.

For European organizations, the impact of this vulnerability can be significant, especially for those relying on JetBrains TeamCity for continuous integration and deployment pipelines. Exposure of user credentials could lead to unauthorized access to build servers, source code repositories, and deployment environments. This could result in intellectual property theft, insertion of malicious code into software builds, or disruption of software delivery processes. Given the medium severity and the requirement for local access with low privileges, the threat is more pronounced in environments where multiple users share access or where attackers can gain foothold on internal networks. Organizations in sectors with stringent data protection regulations, such as finance, healthcare, and critical infrastructure, could face compliance risks if credential leakage leads to data breaches. Additionally, the confidentiality breach could facilitate further attacks, including privilege escalation and lateral movement, increasing the overall risk posture.

To mitigate this vulnerability, European organizations should: 1) Upgrade TeamCity to version 2025.07 or later once the vendor releases a patch addressing this issue. 2) Restrict access to memory snapshots and debugging tools strictly to trusted administrators and limit the number of users with local access to build servers. 3) Implement strict access controls and monitoring on build servers to detect unauthorized access attempts or suspicious activities. 4) Use endpoint protection solutions capable of detecting attempts to capture memory snapshots or dump process memory. 5) Regularly audit and rotate credentials used within TeamCity and related systems to minimize the impact of potential credential exposure. 6) Employ network segmentation to isolate build infrastructure from less trusted network zones, reducing the risk of local access by unauthorized users. 7) Educate administrators and developers about secure handling of credentials and the risks associated with memory snapshot exposure. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on controlling access to sensitive debugging artifacts and limiting the attack surface within build environments.