CVE-2025-59350 is a vulnerability identified in the Dragonfly open source project, specifically affecting versions prior to 2.1.0. Dragonfly is a peer-to-peer (P2P) based file distribution and image acceleration system used to optimize content delivery. The vulnerability arises from the access control mechanism implemented for the Proxy feature, which relies on simple string comparisons to verify passwords. This approach is susceptible to timing attacks, classified under CWE-208 (Observable Timing Discrepancy). In such attacks, an adversary can measure the time taken by the system to compare input strings and infer information about the correct password one character at a time. By systematically sending all possible characters and analyzing the timing differences in the comparison operation, the attacker can gradually reconstruct the password without needing any privileges or user interaction. This vulnerability does not affect confidentiality, integrity, or availability directly but can lead to unauthorized access if the password is compromised. The issue was addressed and fixed in Dragonfly version 2.1.0 by presumably implementing constant-time comparison functions or other mitigations to eliminate timing discrepancies. The CVSS 4.0 base score is 2.7, indicating a low severity level, reflecting the limited impact and the difficulty of exploitation. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and the vulnerability requires no authentication or user interaction to attempt exploitation, but the attack is limited to the Proxy feature's password verification mechanism.

For European organizations using Dragonfly versions prior to 2.1.0, this vulnerability could allow attackers to recover proxy access passwords through timing analysis, potentially enabling unauthorized access to proxy services. This could lead to indirect risks such as unauthorized data distribution, manipulation, or interception within the P2P network. While the direct impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability is low, unauthorized proxy access could be leveraged as a foothold for further attacks or lateral movement within an organization's infrastructure. Organizations relying on Dragonfly for critical content delivery or image acceleration might face operational risks if attackers exploit this vulnerability to disrupt or manipulate proxy services. Given the low CVSS score and absence of known exploits, the immediate risk is limited, but the vulnerability should be addressed promptly to prevent escalation or chaining with other vulnerabilities.

European organizations should upgrade all Dragonfly deployments to version 2.1.0 or later, where the timing attack vulnerability has been fixed. If immediate upgrading is not feasible, organizations should consider implementing network-level protections such as restricting access to the Proxy feature to trusted IP ranges and monitoring for abnormal request patterns indicative of timing attack attempts. Additionally, employing rate limiting on authentication attempts can reduce the feasibility of brute-force timing analysis. Developers and administrators should verify that password comparison functions use constant-time algorithms to prevent timing side channels. Regular security audits and penetration testing focused on timing attacks can help detect similar vulnerabilities. Finally, organizations should maintain up-to-date inventories of software versions in use to ensure timely patching of known vulnerabilities.