CVE-2025-21322
Published: 11 February 2025
Summary
CVE-2025-21322 is a high-severity Link Following (CWE-59) vulnerability in Microsoft Pc Manager. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 36.8th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation).
Deeper analysis
CVE-2025-21322 is an elevation of privilege vulnerability in Microsoft PC Manager, stemming from improper link resolution before file access as indicated by CWE-59. Published on February 11, 2025, it carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (High), with vector AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, reflecting local access requirements, low attack complexity, and low privileges needed for exploitation, resulting in high impacts to confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
A local attacker with low-level privileges on a system running the affected Microsoft PC Manager can exploit this vulnerability to elevate their privileges. Successful exploitation grants the attacker high-level access, potentially allowing full control over the system, including unauthorized data access, modification, and disruption of services.
The Microsoft Security Response Center advisory at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2025-21322 provides details on mitigation, recommending that users update to the latest version of Microsoft PC Manager to address the vulnerability.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2025-2387
Vulnerability details
Microsoft PC Manager Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
The CVE explicitly describes a local elevation of privilege vulnerability (CWE-59) allowing low-privileged attackers to gain high-level access, directly mapping to Exploitation for Privilege Escalation.
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Requires timely remediation of software flaws like improper link resolution in Microsoft PC Manager to prevent privilege escalation exploitation.
Mandates validation of inputs such as file paths and links to block improper resolution leading to unauthorized file access and privilege escalation.
Enforces least privilege on processes like Microsoft PC Manager to limit the scope and impact of local elevation of privilege vulnerabilities.