CVE-2025-9162 is a medium severity vulnerability affecting the Red Hat Build of Keycloak, specifically within the KeycloakRealmImport custom resource functionality. Keycloak is an open-source identity and access management solution widely used for single sign-on and identity federation. The vulnerability arises from the way the KeycloakRealmImport resource processes imported realm documents that contain placeholders referencing environment variables. During the import process, these placeholders are substituted with environment variable values. However, the substitution mechanism is flawed and can be exploited by an attacker who crafts malicious realm documents. By injecting specially crafted content into these placeholders, an attacker can perform injection attacks that lead to the cleartext storage of sensitive information in environment variables. This flaw allows unauthorized disclosure of sensitive data, potentially including credentials or tokens, stored in environment variables during the import process. The vulnerability requires network access (AV:N) and low attack complexity (AC:L), but it does require the attacker to have high privileges (PR:H) within the Keycloak environment. No user interaction is needed (UI:N), and the scope is unchanged (S:U). The impact is primarily on confidentiality (C:H), with no direct impact on integrity or availability. Although no known exploits are currently reported in the wild, the vulnerability poses a risk of sensitive information leakage and potential further exploitation if leveraged in a chained attack. The absence of patches at the time of publication suggests that organizations should prioritize mitigation and monitoring efforts.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-9162 can be significant, especially for those relying on Keycloak for identity and access management in critical applications and services. The cleartext storage of sensitive information in environment variables can lead to unauthorized disclosure of credentials or tokens, which may be leveraged to escalate privileges or move laterally within the network. This risk is heightened in environments where Keycloak is integrated with sensitive systems such as financial services, healthcare, or government infrastructure. Confidentiality breaches can result in regulatory non-compliance under GDPR, leading to legal penalties and reputational damage. Additionally, the vulnerability could undermine trust in identity management systems, affecting user authentication and authorization processes. Since the vulnerability requires high privileges to exploit, insider threats or compromised administrative accounts pose a particular risk. The lack of user interaction means automated or scripted attacks could be feasible once access is obtained. Overall, the vulnerability could facilitate data breaches and compromise the security posture of European organizations that depend on Red Hat's Keycloak build.

To mitigate CVE-2025-9162, European organizations should implement several specific measures beyond generic patching advice: 1) Restrict and monitor administrative access to Keycloak environments to minimize the risk of privilege escalation and insider threats. 2) Implement strict validation and sanitization of imported realm documents to prevent injection of malicious placeholders. This may involve custom validation scripts or use of hardened import procedures. 3) Limit the use of environment variables for storing sensitive information within Keycloak deployments, or employ secure vault solutions that avoid cleartext exposure. 4) Enable detailed logging and alerting on realm import operations to detect anomalous or unauthorized import activities. 5) Conduct regular security audits and penetration testing focused on identity management components to identify potential exploitation paths. 6) Stay updated with Red Hat advisories and apply patches promptly once available. 7) Consider network segmentation and isolation of Keycloak servers to reduce exposure. 8) Educate administrators on secure configuration practices and the risks associated with environment variable usage in Keycloak. These targeted actions will help reduce the attack surface and limit the potential impact of this vulnerability.