CVE-2025-8738 is an information disclosure vulnerability identified in the zlt2000 microservices-platform, specifically affecting versions up to and including 6.0.0. The vulnerability resides in the Spring Actuator Interface component, particularly in the /actuator endpoint. This endpoint is commonly used in Spring-based applications to expose operational information about the running application, such as health metrics, configuration properties, and environment details. The vulnerability allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to manipulate requests to the /actuator interface, resulting in unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information. The exact nature of the leaked data is unspecified, but given the typical use of Spring Actuator, it could include configuration details, environment variables, or other operational data that could aid further attacks. The vulnerability is remotely exploitable without requiring any authentication or user interaction, increasing its risk profile. The CVSS v4.0 base score is 6.9, categorized as medium severity, reflecting the ease of exploitation (network vector, low attack complexity, no privileges or user interaction required) but limited impact confined to information disclosure without direct integrity or availability compromise. No patches or fixes have been linked yet, and no known exploits have been observed in the wild, though public exploit details are available, which could facilitate future attacks. This vulnerability highlights the risks of exposing sensitive management endpoints without adequate access controls in microservices platforms, especially those leveraging Spring Actuator components.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-8738 can be significant depending on the sensitivity of the disclosed information. Unauthorized access to actuator endpoints can reveal internal configuration, environment variables, or system health data, which attackers can leverage to map the internal architecture, identify further vulnerabilities, or craft targeted attacks such as privilege escalation or lateral movement. Organizations relying on the zlt2000 microservices-platform for critical business applications may face increased risk of subsequent breaches or data leaks. Given the microservices architecture's prevalence in modern cloud-native deployments, this vulnerability could affect service availability indirectly if attackers use the disclosed information to disrupt operations. Additionally, disclosure of sensitive operational data may violate GDPR requirements if personal data or security controls are exposed, leading to regulatory and reputational consequences. The fact that exploitation requires no authentication or user interaction increases the threat surface, especially for externally facing services. European organizations with internet-exposed microservices using zlt2000 are particularly at risk, necessitating urgent attention to mitigate potential information leakage and comply with data protection regulations.

To mitigate CVE-2025-8738 effectively, European organizations should implement the following specific measures: 1) Restrict access to the /actuator endpoint by enforcing network-level controls such as IP whitelisting or VPN-only access, ensuring that only trusted internal users or systems can reach this interface. 2) Implement strong authentication and authorization mechanisms on the actuator endpoints, such as OAuth2 or mutual TLS, to prevent unauthenticated access. 3) Disable or limit the exposure of sensitive actuator endpoints in production environments, enabling only necessary health checks or metrics with minimal information disclosure. 4) Monitor and log all access attempts to the /actuator endpoint to detect and respond to suspicious activity promptly. 5) Conduct thorough code and configuration reviews to ensure that no sensitive data is unnecessarily exposed via actuator endpoints. 6) Stay updated with vendor advisories and apply patches or updates as soon as they become available. 7) Employ Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with rules tailored to detect and block suspicious requests targeting actuator endpoints. 8) Perform penetration testing focusing on microservices management interfaces to identify and remediate similar exposure risks proactively.