CVE-2025-5917 is a vulnerability identified in the libarchive library used within Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10. The flaw is an off-by-one error occurring during the handling of prefixes and suffixes in file names, which results in a 1-byte out-of-bounds write overflow. Although the overflow is limited to a single byte, this can corrupt adjacent memory structures. Such memory corruption can cause unpredictable program behavior, including crashes or denial of service. While the vulnerability does not directly allow for privilege escalation or code execution, under certain conditions, attackers might leverage this minor overflow as a stepping stone in a more complex exploit chain. The vulnerability requires local privileges (PR:L) and user interaction (UI:R), with low attack complexity (AC:L) and local attack vector (AV:L). The CVSS score is 2.8, indicating low severity primarily due to limited impact on confidentiality and integrity, and the requirement for local access and user interaction. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches or mitigations have been explicitly linked yet. The vulnerability affects Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 installations that utilize the vulnerable libarchive version, which is commonly used for handling archive files such as tar, zip, and other compressed formats.

For European organizations running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, this vulnerability poses a low but non-negligible risk. The primary impact is potential denial of service or application crashes when processing maliciously crafted archive files. This could disrupt services or automated processes that rely on libarchive for file extraction or archival operations. While the vulnerability does not directly compromise confidentiality or integrity, the instability caused could be exploited in targeted attacks, especially in environments where local users have limited privileges but can interact with archive files. Organizations in sectors with high reliance on Linux-based infrastructure, such as finance, telecommunications, and government, might experience operational disruptions if exploited. However, the requirement for local privileges and user interaction limits the attack surface, reducing the likelihood of widespread exploitation. The absence of known exploits in the wild further lowers immediate risk, but organizations should remain vigilant given the potential for this vulnerability to be chained with others in future attacks.

European organizations should proactively update their Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 systems once a patch addressing CVE-2025-5917 is released by Red Hat. Until then, practical mitigations include restricting local user access to trusted personnel only and limiting the ability to process untrusted archive files. Implementing strict file handling policies and scanning archive files with security tools before extraction can reduce risk. Additionally, monitoring system logs for unusual crashes or application failures related to archive processing can help detect attempted exploitation. Employing application whitelisting to control which programs can execute and handle archive files may also mitigate risk. Organizations should ensure that their incident response teams are aware of this vulnerability and prepared to investigate any anomalies related to libarchive usage. Finally, maintaining up-to-date backups and recovery plans will minimize operational impact in case of denial-of-service conditions caused by exploitation attempts.