CVE-2025-68623

HighLPE

Published: 11 March 2026

Published

11 March 2026

Modified

12 March 2026

KEV Added

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Patch

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CVSS Score 8.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS Score 0.0001 2.7th percentile

Risk Priority 18 60% EPSS · 20% KEV · 20% CVSS

Summary

CVE-2025-68623 is a high-severity Improper Access Control (CWE-284) vulnerability in Microsoft DirectX End-User (inferred from references). Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Executable Installer File Permissions Weakness (T1574.005); ranked at the 2.7th 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 CM-14 (Signed Components) and SI-7 (Software, Firmware, and Information Integrity).

Threat & Defense at a Glance

What attackers do: exploitation maps to Executable Installer File Permissions Weakness (T1574.005) and 1 other technique. What defenders deploy: see the NIST 800-53 controls recommended below.

Threat & Defense Details

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5)AI

CM-14 Signed Components good match

prevent

Requiring verification of digital signatures for downloaded executables before high-integrity execution directly prevents the installer from running attacker-replaced malicious files from the user-writable %TEMP% folder.

SI-7 Software, Firmware, and Information Integrity good match

preventdetect

Performing integrity checks (e.g., cryptographic hashes or signatures) on downloaded installer components before execution prevents or detects tampering in the writable %TEMP% directory.

SR-11 Component Authenticity good match

prevent

Verifying the authenticity of downloaded system components prior to elevated-privilege execution ensures attacker-replaced executables in %TEMP% cannot be used in the privilege escalation chain.

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

T1574.005 Executable Installer File Permissions Weakness Stealth

Adversaries may execute their own malicious payloads by hijacking the binaries used by an installer.

attack.mitre.org →

T1543.003 Windows Service Persistence

Adversaries may create or modify Windows services to repeatedly execute malicious payloads as part of persistence.

attack.mitre.org →

Why these techniques?

Installer executable in user-writable %TEMP% directly matches Executable Installer File Permissions Weakness; resulting high-integrity context enables creation of a Windows service for SYSTEM escalation.

Confidence: HIGH · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v18.1

NVD Description

In Microsoft DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer 9.29.1974.0, a low-privilege user can replace an executable file during the installation process, which may result in unintended elevation of privileges. During installation, the installer runs with HIGH integrity and downloads executables and…

DLLs to the %TEMP% folder - writable by standard users. Subsequently, the installer executes the downloaded executable with HIGH integrity to complete the application installation. However, an attacker can replace the downloaded executable with a malicious, user-controlled executable. When the installer executes this replaced file, it runs the attacker's code with HIGH integrity. Since code running at HIGH integrity can escalate to SYSTEM level by registering and executing a service, this creates a complete privilege escalation chain from standard user to SYSTEM. NOTE: The Supplier disputes this record stating that they have determined this to be the behavior as designed.

Deeper analysisAI

CVE-2025-68623 affects the Microsoft DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer version 9.29.1974.0, where a low-privilege user can replace an executable file during the installation process, potentially leading to unintended elevation of privileges. The installer operates with HIGH integrity and downloads executables and DLLs into the %TEMP% folder, which is writable by standard users. It then executes the downloaded executable with HIGH integrity to finalize the installation, but lacks protections against file replacement in this location.

A low-privilege local attacker (PR:L) can exploit this by replacing the downloaded executable in %TEMP% with a malicious one under their control before the installer executes it. This allows the attacker's code to run with HIGH integrity privileges. From there, the code can further escalate to SYSTEM level by registering and executing a service, enabling a full privilege escalation chain from a standard user to SYSTEM. The vulnerability has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H) and is associated with CWE-284 (Improper Access Control).

Advisories from Talos Intelligence (TALOS-2025-2293) detail the issue, while the Microsoft download page for the installer is available at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35. Microsoft, as the supplier, disputes the vulnerability record, stating it reflects behavior as designed, with no patches or mitigations explicitly mentioned in the provided details.