CVE-2025-25008 — Windows Server Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Executive Summary

Improper link resolution before file access ('link following') in Microsoft Windows allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.

Overview

7.1

CVSS HIGH

Important

MS Severity

Not Exploited

MS Exploit Status

Less Likely

MS Exploit Likelihood

Category Elevation of Privilege

Released Mar 11 2025

Last Updated Mar 11 2025

Publicly Disclosed No

CISA KEV Not Listed

Known Exploits None Known

EPSS Score 0.0056 — 0.42101 percentile

NVD CVSS 7.1 HIGH — matches MSRC

CVSS Vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C

ATTACK VECTOR

Local

ATTACK COMPLEXITY

Low

PRIVILEGES REQUIRED

Low

USER INTERACTION

None

SCOPE

Unchanged

CONFIDENTIALITY

None

INTEGRITY

High

AVAILABILITY

High

EXPLOIT CODE MATURITY

Unproven

REMEDIATION LEVEL

Official Fix

REPORT CONFIDENCE

Confirmed

Temporal Score: 6.2

EPSS Score

0.0056

probability of exploitation in the next 30 days

0.42101 percentile - updated 2026-06-21

View on FIRST.org

Affected Products

5 affected products

Product	KB Article	Severity	Impact	Restart Required
Windows Server 2016	`5053594 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows Server 2016 (Server Core installation)	`5053594 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows Server 2019	`5053596 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows Server 2019 (Server Core installation)	`5053596 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows Server 2022 5053603 (Security Update) 5053638 (SecurityHotpatchUpdate) Important Elevation of Privilege 5051979 5052106 Base: 7.1 Temporal: 6.2 Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C 10.0.20348.3328 10.0.20348.3270 Yes None Windows Server 2022 (Server Core installation) 5053603 (Security Update) 5053638 (SecurityHotpatchUpdate) Important Elevation of Privilege 5051979 5052106 Base: 7.1 Temporal: 6.2 Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C 10.0.20348.3328 10.0.20348.3270 Yes None Windows Server 2022, 23H2 Edition (Server Core installation)	`5053599 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes

Patches

3 patches

Article	Type	Restart
`5053594`	Security Update	Yes
`5053596`	Security Update	Yes
`5053599`	Security Update	Yes

Known Exploits

No known exploits have been linked for this CVE yet. When available, exploit references will be sourced from public repositories and may be unverified, incomplete, or non-functional. Always review code carefully before use in any environment.

Acknowledgments

Lockheed Martin Red Team

References

MSRC Advisory MITRE NVD