CVE-2025-7519 is a vulnerability identified in polkit, a system service used in many Linux distributions, including Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, to manage system-wide privileges. The flaw arises when polkit processes an XML policy file containing 32 or more nested elements in depth. This specific condition triggers an out-of-bounds write, which means that the program writes data outside the boundaries of allocated memory. Such memory corruption can lead to a crash or other unexpected behaviors. Importantly, the vulnerability does not exclude the possibility of arbitrary code execution, meaning an attacker might exploit this flaw to execute malicious code with elevated privileges. However, exploitation requires a high-privilege account to place the maliciously crafted XML policy file in the appropriate location, which limits the attack vector to insiders or attackers who have already gained elevated access. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 6.7, categorized as medium severity, reflecting the balance between the potential impact and the difficulty of exploitation. The attack vector is local (AV:L), requiring low attack complexity (AC:L), high privileges (PR:H), no user interaction (UI:N), and impacts confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:H/I:H/A:H). No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches or mitigations are linked yet, indicating this is a newly disclosed vulnerability.

For European organizations, especially those relying on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 in their infrastructure, this vulnerability poses a significant risk. Since polkit is integral to privilege management, exploitation could allow an attacker with existing high-level access to escalate their control further, potentially leading to full system compromise. This could result in unauthorized access to sensitive data, disruption of critical services, and integrity loss of system configurations. The requirement for high privileges to exploit limits the risk from external attackers but raises concerns about insider threats or lateral movement within compromised networks. Organizations in sectors with stringent regulatory requirements for data protection, such as finance, healthcare, and government, could face severe compliance and operational impacts if this vulnerability is exploited. Additionally, the potential for denial-of-service through crashes could disrupt business continuity.

To mitigate this vulnerability effectively, European organizations should: 1) Immediately monitor and restrict access to directories and files where polkit policy XML files reside, ensuring only trusted administrators have write permissions. 2) Implement strict access controls and auditing for high-privilege accounts to detect any unauthorized attempts to modify policy files. 3) Employ application whitelisting and integrity monitoring tools to detect unexpected changes in polkit policy files. 4) Prepare to apply vendor patches promptly once released; meanwhile, consider temporary workarounds such as limiting the depth of XML policy files if configurable. 5) Conduct internal security reviews and penetration tests focusing on privilege escalation paths involving polkit. 6) Educate system administrators about the risks of this vulnerability and the importance of safeguarding high-privilege credentials. 7) Use security-enhanced Linux (SELinux) policies or AppArmor profiles to restrict polkit’s capabilities further, reducing the impact of potential exploitation.