CVE-2025-7784 is a vulnerability identified in Red Hat's build of Keycloak version 26, specifically affecting the Fine-Grained Admin Permissions version 2 (FGAPv2) feature. Keycloak is an open-source identity and access management system widely used for authentication and authorization in enterprise environments. The vulnerability arises due to improper enforcement of privilege boundaries when FGAPv2 is enabled. An administrative user assigned the manage-users role, which is intended to allow user management without full administrative rights, can exploit this flaw to escalate their privileges to the realm-admin level. Realm-admin privileges grant comprehensive control over the realm, including configuration, user management, and security settings. This escalation undermines the principle of least privilege and the separation of administrative duties, increasing the risk of unauthorized access and potential misuse of administrative functions. The vulnerability is exploitable remotely over the network (AV:N) with low attack complexity (AC:L), but requires the attacker to already have manage-users privileges (PR:H) and does not require user interaction (UI:N). The impact is high on confidentiality and integrity, as unauthorized realm-admin access can lead to data exposure and unauthorized changes, but availability is not affected. No public exploits have been reported yet, but the vulnerability is published and should be addressed promptly. The absence of patch links suggests that organizations should monitor Red Hat advisories for forthcoming updates or apply recommended configuration workarounds.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to the security of identity and access management infrastructures that rely on Keycloak. Unauthorized privilege escalation to realm-admin can lead to full control over authentication and authorization policies, user data, and security configurations. This can result in data breaches, unauthorized access to sensitive systems, and potential lateral movement within networks. Given the critical role of identity management in regulatory compliance (e.g., GDPR), such a compromise could lead to legal and financial repercussions. Organizations in sectors with high security requirements, such as finance, healthcare, and government, are particularly at risk. The vulnerability could also be leveraged in targeted attacks or insider threat scenarios where an attacker has limited administrative access but seeks to expand control. The lack of known exploits reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the urgency for mitigation, as attackers may develop exploits once the vulnerability details are widely known.

European organizations should immediately audit their Keycloak deployments to determine if FGAPv2 is enabled and if the affected version (Red Hat build of Keycloak 26) is in use. Until official patches are released, organizations should consider the following mitigations: restrict the assignment of the manage-users role to only highly trusted administrators; implement enhanced monitoring and alerting on privilege escalation attempts and administrative actions within Keycloak; enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all administrative accounts to reduce the risk of credential compromise; review and tighten network access controls to Keycloak administrative interfaces, limiting access to trusted IP ranges; consider temporarily disabling FGAPv2 if feasible and if it does not disrupt critical operations; stay updated with Red Hat security advisories for patches or official workarounds and apply them promptly once available. Additionally, conduct regular reviews of administrative roles and permissions to ensure adherence to the principle of least privilege.