CVE-2025-49695 is a high-severity use-after-free vulnerability identified in Microsoft Office 2019, specifically version 19.0.0. The vulnerability arises from improper handling of memory within the Office suite, where a previously freed memory object is accessed again, leading to undefined behavior. This type of flaw (CWE-416) can be exploited by an attacker to execute arbitrary code locally on the affected system without requiring any user interaction or prior authentication. The CVSS v3.1 score of 8.4 reflects the critical nature of this vulnerability, with high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The attack vector is local (AV:L), meaning the attacker must have local access to the machine, but no privileges or user interaction are needed (PR:N/UI:N). The vulnerability is exploitable in an unmodified state (Exploitability: Unproven but likely), and no known exploits are currently reported in the wild. The vulnerability affects Microsoft Office 2019, a widely used productivity suite, making it a significant risk for organizations relying on this software. The lack of an available patch at the time of publication increases the urgency for mitigation and risk management.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-49695 could be substantial. Microsoft Office 2019 is extensively deployed across enterprises, government agencies, and educational institutions throughout Europe. Successful exploitation could allow attackers with local access—such as malicious insiders or attackers who have gained limited foothold—to escalate privileges, execute arbitrary code, and potentially move laterally within networks. This could lead to data breaches, intellectual property theft, disruption of business operations, and compromise of sensitive information. The high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact means critical business processes could be affected, including document handling, communication, and collaboration. Additionally, sectors with stringent data protection requirements under GDPR may face compliance risks and financial penalties if breaches occur. The absence of user interaction and authentication requirements lowers the barrier for exploitation once local access is obtained, increasing the threat level for organizations with less controlled endpoint environments.

Given the absence of an official patch at the time of this report, European organizations should implement several targeted mitigations: 1) Restrict local access to systems running Microsoft Office 2019 by enforcing strict endpoint security policies, including least privilege principles and strong access controls. 2) Employ application whitelisting and endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to monitor and block suspicious activities indicative of exploitation attempts. 3) Disable or limit the use of Office macros and embedded objects that could trigger the vulnerable code paths. 4) Conduct thorough user training to minimize the risk of insider threats and ensure rapid reporting of suspicious behavior. 5) Maintain up-to-date backups and implement network segmentation to contain potential breaches. 6) Monitor vendor communications closely for the release of official patches and apply them promptly. 7) Consider upgrading to a later, supported version of Microsoft Office if feasible, as newer versions may have addressed this vulnerability.