CVE-2025-54618 is a permission control vulnerability identified in the distributed clipboard module of Huawei's HarmonyOS, specifically affecting versions 5.0.1 and 5.1.0. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-275, which relates to improper permission management. In this context, the distributed clipboard module, which facilitates clipboard data sharing across devices in the HarmonyOS ecosystem, does not enforce adequate permission checks. This flaw allows an attacker with limited privileges (low-level privileges) to access clipboard data that should otherwise be protected, thereby compromising the confidentiality of sensitive information. The vulnerability does not require user interaction to be exploited and does not impact the integrity or availability of the system, focusing solely on confidentiality. The CVSS v3.1 score is 5.7 (medium severity), with an attack vector of adjacent network (AV:A), low attack complexity (AC:L), requiring privileges (PR:L), no user interaction (UI:N), and unchanged scope (S:U). No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches have been published yet. The vulnerability's exploitation could lead to unauthorized disclosure of sensitive clipboard data shared across devices, which may include passwords, personal information, or confidential business data, depending on user behavior and application usage.

For European organizations, the impact of this vulnerability could be significant, especially for enterprises and government agencies that utilize Huawei HarmonyOS devices within their operational environments. The unauthorized access to clipboard data can lead to leakage of sensitive information, potentially exposing confidential communications, credentials, or intellectual property. This risk is heightened in sectors where data confidentiality is paramount, such as finance, healthcare, and critical infrastructure. Given that the vulnerability requires low-level privileges but no user interaction, insider threats or compromised accounts with limited access could exploit this flaw to escalate data exposure. Additionally, organizations relying on distributed device ecosystems for productivity may face increased risk of data leakage across interconnected devices. Although the vulnerability does not affect system integrity or availability, the confidentiality breach alone could result in regulatory non-compliance under GDPR and damage to organizational reputation.

To mitigate this vulnerability, European organizations should implement the following specific measures: 1) Immediately audit and restrict the use of Huawei HarmonyOS devices within sensitive environments, limiting their deployment to non-critical roles until patches are available. 2) Enforce strict access controls and privilege management to ensure that only trusted users have low-level privileges on affected devices, minimizing the attack surface. 3) Monitor clipboard usage and data flows within the network using endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools capable of identifying unusual clipboard access patterns or data exfiltration attempts. 4) Educate users on the risks of sharing sensitive information via clipboard functions, encouraging the use of secure data transfer methods. 5) Maintain close communication with Huawei for timely patch releases and apply updates promptly once available. 6) Consider network segmentation to isolate devices running HarmonyOS from critical systems to reduce lateral movement opportunities. 7) Implement data loss prevention (DLP) solutions that can detect and block unauthorized clipboard data transfers across devices.