Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2025-10990 is an availability flaw in Ruby REXML XML parsing. A crafted XML document can cause excessive regex processing when hex numeric character references are handled. Red Hat maps this to puppet-agent in Satellite and Satellite Client packages. It is high severity because exploitation is network-reachable and unauthenticated where vulnerable XML processing is exposed.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation for externally reachable XML-processing services and Red Hat Satellite environments. This is mainly a service availability risk. If exposure is internal-only and XML input is trusted, handle through an accelerated patch cycle rather than emergency response.
Technical view
The issue is CWE-1333 ReDoS in REXML handling of &#x...; XML character references, described as an incomplete fix for CVE-2024-49761. CVSS 3.1 is 7.5: AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H. Source data lists affected Red Hat Satellite 6.16/6.17 and Satellite Client 6 puppet-agent builds.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on systems running the listed Red Hat Satellite, Satellite Capsule, Satellite Utils, or Satellite Client puppet-agent packages, or applications using affected REXML to parse untrusted XML. Actual risk depends on whether attackers can submit XML to the parser.
Exploitation context
No provided source or KEV status indicates active exploitation. The expected impact is denial of service through CPU exhaustion, not data theft or code execution. An attacker needs a reachable workflow that processes attacker-controlled XML with vulnerable REXML.
Researcher notes
The bundle shows duplicated affected entries and limited upstream version detail for CVE-2025-10990. Verify exact package NEVRA and vendor advisory applicability. Do not infer active exploitation; KEV is false and no cited source reports exploitation.
Mitigation direction
- Review Red Hat CVE guidance and apply applicable RHSA-2025:17606, RHSA-2025:17613, or RHSA-2025:17693 updates.
- Update REXML components according to the GitHub advisory and vendor guidance.
- Restrict or reject untrusted XML where business workflows allow.
- Prioritize externally reachable or partner-facing XML ingestion services.
- Monitor CPU saturation on XML-processing services until remediation is complete.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Red Hat Satellite and Satellite Client hosts.
- Check installed puppet-agent package versions against Red Hat advisories.
- Identify applications using REXML for external or low-trust XML input.
- Validate scanner findings against CVE-2025-10990 and the RHSA identifiers.
- Confirm post-maintenance packages match vendor-fixed advisory guidance.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-1333: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2025-10990 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H3.93.6redhatVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.5HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- Source timelineredhat
Reported to Red Hat.
- Source timelineredhat
Made public.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- RHSA-2025:17606CVE reference, redhat · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2025:17613CVE reference, redhat · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2025:17693CVE reference, redhat · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-10990CVE reference, redhat · vdb-entry, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHBZ#2398216CVE reference, redhat · issue-tracking, x_refsource_REDHAT
- https://github.com/ruby/rexml/commit/ce59f2eb1aeb371fe1643414f06618dbe031979fCVE reference, redhat
- https://github.com/ruby/rexml/security/advisories/GHSA-2rxp-v6pw-ch6mCVE reference, redhat
- https://www.ruby-lang.org/en/news/2024/10/28/redos-rexml-cve-2024-49761/CVE reference, redhat
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity
Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.