CVE-2025-5914 is a high-severity vulnerability affecting the libarchive library used in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10. The flaw exists specifically in the function archive_read_format_rar_seek_data(), where an integer overflow leads to a double-free condition. A double-free vulnerability occurs when the same memory location is freed more than once, causing memory corruption. This corruption can be exploited by attackers to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the affected process or to cause a denial-of-service (DoS) by crashing the system or application. The vulnerability requires local access with low privileges (PR:L) and user interaction (UI:R), indicating that an attacker must have some level of access and trigger the flaw, for example, by processing a crafted RAR archive file. The attack vector is local (AV:L), meaning remote exploitation without prior access is unlikely. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 7.3, reflecting high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The vulnerability affects Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, a widely used enterprise-grade Linux distribution, especially in server and critical infrastructure environments. Although no known exploits are currently in the wild, the vulnerability's nature and impact make it a significant risk if exploited. The lack of available patches at the time of publication increases the urgency for mitigation and monitoring. Organizations using RHEL 10 and processing RAR archives should be particularly cautious, as the flaw resides in the archive extraction functionality, which is commonly used in software deployment, data ingestion, and backup operations.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-5914 can be substantial, especially those relying on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 for critical infrastructure, data centers, and enterprise applications. Successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized code execution, potentially allowing attackers to escalate privileges, move laterally within networks, or disrupt services through denial-of-service conditions. This can compromise sensitive data confidentiality and integrity, disrupt business operations, and cause reputational damage. Sectors such as finance, telecommunications, government, and manufacturing, which often use RHEL for their backend systems, are at heightened risk. The requirement for local access and user interaction somewhat limits the attack surface, but insider threats or compromised user accounts could still exploit this vulnerability. Additionally, the flaw in archive processing could be leveraged through social engineering, where users are tricked into opening malicious RAR files. Given the critical role of Linux servers in European IT infrastructure, the vulnerability could affect cloud service providers and managed service providers, amplifying the potential impact across multiple organizations.

To mitigate CVE-2025-5914, European organizations should implement the following specific measures: 1) Monitor Red Hat advisories closely and apply patches immediately once available to address the vulnerability in libarchive. 2) Restrict local access to systems running RHEL 10 to trusted users only and enforce strict access controls and least privilege principles. 3) Implement application whitelisting and endpoint protection to detect and prevent execution of unauthorized or suspicious code. 4) Educate users about the risks of opening untrusted archive files, especially RAR files received via email or external sources, to reduce the risk of social engineering exploitation. 5) Employ network segmentation to limit the potential lateral movement of attackers who gain local access. 6) Use intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDS/IPS) to monitor for anomalous behavior related to archive extraction processes. 7) Consider disabling or restricting the use of RAR archive processing in environments where it is not essential. 8) Conduct regular security audits and vulnerability scans to identify unpatched systems and ensure compliance with security policies.