CVE-2025-49739
Published: 08 July 2025
Summary
CVE-2025-49739 is a high-severity Link Following (CWE-59) vulnerability in Microsoft Visual Studio 2022. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 26.1% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 SI-2 (Flaw Remediation) and AC-6 (Least Privilege).
Threat & Defense at a Glance
Threat & Defense Details
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5)AI
Directly mandates timely remediation of identified flaws, such as patching Visual Studio for the improper link resolution vulnerability in CVE-2025-49739.
Requires vulnerability scanning to identify unpatched Visual Studio instances susceptible to symlink-based privilege escalation in this CVE.
Enforces least privilege on processes like Visual Studio to limit the scope and success of privilege elevation via improper symlink following.
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Direct local privilege escalation via symlink following (CWE-59) in Visual Studio file operations.
NVD Description
Improper link resolution before file access ('link following') in Visual Studio allows an unauthorized attacker to elevate privileges over a network.
Deeper analysisAI
CVE-2025-49739 is an improper link resolution before file access vulnerability, commonly referred to as 'link following', affecting Visual Studio. Published on 2025-07-08, it carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) and maps to CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access. The flaw enables unauthorized privilege elevation due to inadequate validation of symbolic links prior to file operations.
An unauthorized attacker can exploit this vulnerability over a network with low attack complexity and no required privileges, though it demands user interaction. Successful exploitation allows the attacker to elevate privileges, achieving high impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected system.
The Microsoft Security Response Center has published an update guide detailing mitigations and patches for CVE-2025-49739 at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2025-49739. Security practitioners should consult this advisory for specific remediation steps.
Details
- CWE(s)