CVE-2025-68269 is a vulnerability identified in JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA prior to version 2025.3, classified under CWE-349 (Missing Confirmation for Critical Actions). The issue arises because the software lacks a confirmation prompt when opening remote projects over SSH connections that are untrusted. This missing confirmation can lead users to inadvertently open malicious or compromised remote projects without explicit consent, potentially exposing sensitive source code or configuration files. The vulnerability is remotely exploitable over the network without requiring authentication, but it does require user interaction to open the remote project. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 5.4, indicating medium severity, with attack vector network (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), user interaction required (UI:R), unchanged scope (S:U), and limited confidentiality and integrity impacts (C:L/I:L) but no availability impact (A:N). Although no known exploits have been reported in the wild, the risk exists that attackers could craft malicious remote projects to trick developers into opening them, potentially leading to information disclosure or code integrity issues. This vulnerability is particularly relevant for development environments where remote project access over SSH is common, such as distributed teams or cloud-based development workflows.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a risk primarily to software development teams using IntelliJ IDEA for remote project access over SSH. The potential impact includes unauthorized disclosure of sensitive source code or project configurations if malicious remote projects are opened without confirmation. This could lead to intellectual property theft or leakage of confidential business logic. Integrity impacts, while limited, could allow attackers to influence the development environment or inject malicious code if combined with other vulnerabilities or social engineering tactics. The requirement for user interaction reduces the likelihood of automated exploitation but does not eliminate risk, especially in environments with less stringent security awareness. Organizations relying heavily on remote development workflows or using SSH for project access are more vulnerable. The absence of known exploits suggests a window for proactive mitigation. Given the medium severity, the impact is moderate but could escalate if exploited in targeted attacks against critical software projects or intellectual property within European tech sectors.

1. Upgrade IntelliJ IDEA to version 2025.3 or later as soon as the patch is released to ensure the missing confirmation prompt is implemented. 2. Until the patch is available, enforce strict policies restricting the opening of remote projects over SSH to trusted sources only. 3. Educate developers and users about the risks of opening untrusted remote projects and encourage verification of project origins before access. 4. Implement network-level controls to limit SSH access to known and verified hosts. 5. Use endpoint security solutions that can detect suspicious activity related to remote project access or code injection attempts. 6. Monitor development environments for unusual behavior or unexpected project openings. 7. Consider using alternative secure development environments or tools that provide explicit confirmation for remote project access if immediate patching is not feasible. 8. Integrate security awareness training focused on social engineering and remote code access risks within development teams.