CVE-2025-5914 is a double free vulnerability in the libarchive library, specifically in the archive_read_format_rar_seek_data() function within archive_read_support_format_rar.c. Libarchive is a widely used programming library that supports reading and creating various archive formats such as GNU tar, cpio, and ISO 9660 CD-ROM images. This vulnerability affects Red Hat Enterprise Linux versions 8 and 9 across multiple architectures. Red Hat has released security updates to address this issue, which is rated as having a high security impact. The vulnerability could potentially lead to memory corruption or crashes if exploited. No active exploitation has been reported. Detailed patch instructions and updated packages are available from Red Hat advisories RHSA-2025:14130 and RHSA-2025:14135.

The double free vulnerability in libarchive could lead to memory corruption, which may cause application crashes or potentially enable arbitrary code execution depending on the context of use. Since libarchive is used in various utilities and desktop file managers, the impact could affect multiple components relying on archive processing. Red Hat rates this vulnerability as high severity, indicating significant risk if exploited. However, no known exploits in the wild have been reported so far.

Red Hat has released official security updates that fix this vulnerability in libarchive for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 and 9. Users should apply these updates promptly following the guidance in Red Hat advisories RHSA-2025:14130 and RHSA-2025:14135. The advisories provide detailed instructions on updating the affected packages. Since an official fix is available, applying the patch is the recommended mitigation. No additional vendor-recommended mitigations are indicated.