CVE-2025-7424 is a high-severity vulnerability identified in the libxslt library used within Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10. The flaw arises due to a type confusion issue involving the 'psvi' memory field, which is used interchangeably for both stylesheet and input data during XML transformations. This improper handling leads to the possibility of accessing resources using incompatible types, which can cause memory corruption or application crashes. Specifically, the vulnerability can be triggered when XML transformations are performed, causing the application to behave unexpectedly or crash, potentially resulting in denial of service (DoS). The vulnerability does not require user interaction or privileges but does require local access (AV:L) and has a high attack complexity (AC:H). The scope is classified as changed (S:C), indicating that the vulnerability affects resources beyond the initially vulnerable component. The impact affects integrity and availability, with no direct confidentiality impact. Although no known exploits are currently reported in the wild, the vulnerability's characteristics suggest that a successful exploit could lead to significant disruption of services relying on libxslt for XML processing within Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 environments.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk, especially those relying on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 for critical infrastructure, enterprise applications, or services that perform XML transformations. The potential for application crashes or memory corruption can lead to denial of service conditions, disrupting business operations, and potentially causing data integrity issues. Industries such as finance, telecommunications, government, and healthcare, which often use Red Hat Enterprise Linux in their server environments, could face operational downtime or degraded service availability. Given the high attack complexity and local access requirement, the threat is more relevant to internal threat actors or attackers who have already gained some level of access, emphasizing the need for robust internal security controls. The lack of known exploits in the wild currently reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the possibility of future exploitation, especially as attackers develop new techniques.

To mitigate this vulnerability effectively, European organizations should prioritize applying patches from Red Hat as soon as they become available, even though no patch links are currently provided. In the interim, organizations should audit and restrict local access to systems running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 to trusted users only, minimizing the risk of exploitation by unauthorized personnel. Employing runtime application self-protection (RASP) or memory protection technologies such as Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR) and Data Execution Prevention (DEP) can help mitigate the impact of memory corruption exploits. Additionally, organizations should monitor system logs and application behavior for signs of crashes or unusual activity related to XML processing. Conducting thorough code reviews and testing of applications that utilize libxslt for XML transformations can help identify and remediate potential misuse or unsafe handling of XML data. Finally, maintaining a robust internal security posture, including least privilege principles and network segmentation, will reduce the likelihood of an attacker gaining the necessary local access to exploit this vulnerability.