CVE-2025-9301 is a medium-severity vulnerability identified in the cmake build system, specifically affecting version 4.1.20250725-gb5cce23. The flaw exists in the function cmForEachFunctionBlocker::ReplayItems within the source file cmForEachCommand.cxx. The vulnerability manifests as a reachable assertion failure, which means that under certain conditions, the program encounters an assertion that is triggered during execution, potentially causing the application to terminate unexpectedly or behave unpredictably. This type of vulnerability typically leads to denial of service by crashing the affected process. The attack vector requires local access with low privileges (local attack vector with low complexity), and no user interaction or elevated privileges are necessary to trigger the assertion. The vulnerability does not affect confidentiality, integrity, or availability beyond the scope of the local system where cmake is running. The exploit has been publicly disclosed, increasing the risk of exploitation, although no known exploits are currently observed in the wild. A patch has been released (commit identifier 37e27f71bc356d880c908040cd0cb68fa2c371b8) to address this issue, and it is strongly recommended to apply this update to mitigate the risk. The CVSS v4.0 base score is 4.8, reflecting a medium severity level due to the local attack vector and limited impact scope.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-9301 is primarily related to stability and availability of development environments that utilize the affected cmake version. Since cmake is widely used in software development and build automation, a reachable assertion vulnerability could disrupt build processes, causing denial of service conditions on developer machines or build servers. This disruption could delay software development cycles, continuous integration pipelines, and automated testing environments. However, the vulnerability does not allow remote exploitation or privilege escalation, limiting its impact to local users who already have access to the system. Organizations with strict development environment controls and isolated build servers will face minimal risk, but those with shared or less controlled environments might experience interruptions. The vulnerability does not directly threaten sensitive data confidentiality or integrity but could indirectly affect operational efficiency and software delivery timelines.

To mitigate CVE-2025-9301, European organizations should: 1) Immediately update cmake to the patched version containing commit 37e27f71bc356d880c908040cd0cb68fa2c371b8 or later releases that include this fix. 2) Restrict local access to build servers and developer workstations running vulnerable cmake versions to trusted personnel only, minimizing the risk of local exploitation. 3) Implement monitoring and alerting for abnormal termination or crashes of cmake processes to detect potential exploitation attempts. 4) Enforce strict user privilege management to prevent unauthorized local users from executing build tools. 5) Integrate vulnerability scanning into software supply chain management to identify and remediate vulnerable cmake versions proactively. 6) Educate development teams about the importance of applying patches promptly and maintaining secure build environments.