CVE-2025-10994 is a use-after-free vulnerability identified in Open Babel versions up to 3.1.1, specifically within the function GAMESSOutputFormat::ReadMolecule located in the gamessformat.cpp source file. Open Babel is an open-source chemical toolbox widely used for converting, analyzing, and manipulating chemical data formats. The vulnerability arises when the ReadMolecule function improperly manages memory, leading to a use-after-free condition. This means that after a memory object is freed, the program continues to use the pointer referencing that memory, potentially causing undefined behavior such as crashes, data corruption, or arbitrary code execution. The vulnerability can be triggered locally, requiring an attacker to have local access with at least low privileges (as indicated by the CVSS vector: AV:L, PR:L). No user interaction is required, and the attack complexity is low. Although the CVSS score is 4.8 (medium severity), the presence of a public exploit increases the risk of exploitation. However, there are no known exploits in the wild at the time of publication. The vulnerability does not require network access or user interaction, but it does require the attacker to have local access and some privileges on the system. The impact includes potential confidentiality, integrity, and availability issues due to the possibility of arbitrary code execution or application crashes. Since Open Babel is often used in scientific research, pharmaceutical development, and chemical data processing, exploitation could disrupt critical workflows or lead to unauthorized data manipulation or disclosure. No official patches or mitigation links are provided yet, so users must monitor for updates and apply them promptly once available.

For European organizations, especially those involved in chemical research, pharmaceuticals, academia, and industries relying on chemical informatics, this vulnerability poses a moderate risk. Exploitation could lead to disruption of research workflows, data corruption, or unauthorized code execution on affected systems. Given that Open Babel is primarily a local tool used by scientists and researchers, the threat is more pronounced in environments where multiple users share systems or where attackers can gain local access through other means (e.g., compromised credentials or insider threats). The confidentiality of sensitive chemical data could be compromised, potentially affecting intellectual property and competitive advantage. Integrity issues could lead to incorrect research outcomes or flawed chemical analyses. Availability could be impacted if the application crashes or behaves unpredictably. The medium severity rating suggests that while the threat is not critical, it should not be ignored, especially in high-value research environments common in European countries with strong pharmaceutical and chemical sectors.

1. Restrict local access to systems running vulnerable versions of Open Babel to trusted users only, minimizing the risk of local exploitation. 2. Implement strict user privilege management to ensure users have only the minimum necessary permissions, reducing the potential impact of exploitation. 3. Monitor systems for unusual behavior or crashes related to Open Babel processes, which could indicate exploitation attempts. 4. Use application whitelisting and endpoint protection solutions to detect and block suspicious activities related to Open Babel. 5. Regularly check for and apply official patches or updates from the Open Babel project as soon as they become available. 6. Where possible, run Open Babel in isolated environments such as containers or virtual machines to limit the scope of any potential compromise. 7. Educate users about the risks of running untrusted chemical data files through Open Babel to avoid inadvertent triggering of the vulnerability. 8. Consider implementing file integrity monitoring on Open Babel binaries and related files to detect unauthorized changes.