CVE-2025-5731 is a medium-severity vulnerability identified in Red Hat Data Grid version 8.5.4, specifically affecting the Infinispan Command Line Interface (CLI). The flaw arises from the insecure handling of sensitive credentials: a password decoded from a Base64-encoded Kubernetes secret is processed in plaintext and incorporated directly into a command string. When a user issues a command that is not recognized or found by the CLI, this sensitive password may be inadvertently exposed within the resulting error message. This exposure occurs because the error message generation mechanism includes the plaintext password, thereby leaking confidential information. The vulnerability does not require user interaction or privileges (AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N), indicating that an attacker with local access to the system could trigger the flaw without authentication. The impact is primarily on confidentiality, as the password exposure could allow attackers to gain unauthorized access to protected resources if they capture the error output. However, the vulnerability does not affect integrity or availability. No known exploits are currently in the wild, and no patches or mitigations have been explicitly linked yet. The vulnerability was published on June 26, 2025, and is tracked under CVSS v3.1 with a score of 6.2, reflecting a medium severity level due to the local attack vector and high confidentiality impact but limited scope and no requirement for user interaction or privileges.

For European organizations using Red Hat Data Grid 8.5.4, especially those deploying it within Kubernetes environments, this vulnerability poses a risk of sensitive credential leakage. Exposure of Kubernetes secret passwords could lead to unauthorized access to data grids or connected systems, potentially compromising sensitive business data or internal services. This is particularly critical for sectors with stringent data protection requirements such as finance, healthcare, and government institutions within Europe. The local attack vector means that threat actors would need some level of access to the host system or container environment to exploit this flaw, which may limit remote exploitation but raises concerns about insider threats or lateral movement within compromised networks. Additionally, leaked credentials could be used to escalate privileges or move laterally, increasing the overall risk posture. The vulnerability could also undermine compliance with GDPR and other European data protection regulations if sensitive data is exposed due to this flaw.

European organizations should immediately audit their deployments of Red Hat Data Grid 8.5.4 to identify affected systems, particularly those integrated with Kubernetes. As no official patch links are provided, organizations should implement the following mitigations: 1) Restrict local access to systems running the vulnerable CLI to trusted administrators only, minimizing the risk of unauthorized local exploitation. 2) Review and sanitize error handling and logging configurations to ensure that sensitive information, such as decoded secrets, is never included in error messages or logs. 3) Employ Kubernetes best practices by limiting the scope and permissions of secrets and using tools like Kubernetes RBAC to restrict access. 4) Monitor system logs and CLI usage for anomalous commands or error messages that could indicate exploitation attempts. 5) Consider upgrading to a later version of Red Hat Data Grid if available or applying vendor-provided patches as soon as they are released. 6) Implement network segmentation and zero-trust principles to reduce the impact of any potential credential exposure. 7) Educate administrators on secure handling of secrets and the risks of exposing sensitive data in error messages.