CVE-2025-57446 is a high-severity vulnerability affecting the O-RAN Near Realtime RIC (RAN Intelligent Controller) ric-plt-submgr component within the J-Release environment. The vulnerability arises from improper handling of requests to the Subscription Manager API, which allows remote attackers to send specially crafted requests that trigger a denial of service (DoS) condition. This vulnerability is classified under CWE-400, indicating it is related to uncontrolled resource consumption. The attack vector is network-based (AV:N), requires no privileges (PR:N), and no user interaction (UI:N), making it relatively easy to exploit remotely. The impact is limited to availability (A:H), with no direct confidentiality or integrity compromise. The lack of known exploits in the wild suggests it is either newly discovered or not yet weaponized, but the high CVSS score of 7.5 reflects the significant risk of service disruption. The O-RAN Near Realtime RIC is a critical component in modern open radio access networks, responsible for real-time control and optimization of radio resources. Disruption of this component can degrade network performance or cause outages in mobile network services relying on O-RAN architecture.

For European organizations, especially telecom operators and infrastructure providers deploying O-RAN based networks, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to network availability and service continuity. A successful DoS attack could disrupt mobile network operations, affecting end-user connectivity, emergency services, and enterprise communications. Given the increasing adoption of O-RAN in Europe as part of 5G network modernization efforts, the vulnerability could impact a broad range of stakeholders including mobile network operators, virtualized network function providers, and critical infrastructure reliant on cellular connectivity. Service outages could lead to financial losses, regulatory penalties, and reputational damage. Additionally, disruption in telecom infrastructure may have cascading effects on other sectors such as transportation, healthcare, and public safety that depend on reliable mobile communications.

To mitigate this vulnerability, European organizations should prioritize the following actions: 1) Immediate deployment of patches or updates from the O-RAN software maintainers once available; 2) Implement network-level filtering and rate limiting on the Subscription Manager API endpoints to detect and block anomalous or excessive request patterns indicative of DoS attempts; 3) Employ intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDPS) with signatures or heuristics tailored to O-RAN API abuse; 4) Conduct thorough security audits and penetration testing focused on the ric-plt-submgr component to identify and remediate potential weaknesses; 5) Segment the network to isolate critical O-RAN components and restrict access to trusted management networks only; 6) Monitor system performance and logs continuously for early signs of resource exhaustion or abnormal API usage; 7) Collaborate with vendors and the O-RAN Alliance community to share threat intelligence and best practices for securing the Near Realtime RIC environment. These measures go beyond generic advice by focusing on proactive detection, network segmentation, and vendor collaboration specific to the O-RAN ecosystem.