{"id":"CVE-2025-21204","aliases":["EUVD-2025-10245","GHSA-429q-ccqc-32wq"],"status":"published","title":"Windows Process Activation Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability","description":"Improper link resolution before file access ('link following') in Windows Update Stack allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.","severity":{"version":"3.1","score":7.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C","level":"high","assessor":"cna","from":"cve"},"epss":{"day":"2026-11-10","score":0.07134,"percentile":0.94314,"model":"v2026.06.15"},"facts":{"in_kev":false,"known_exploited":false,"public_exploit":true,"fix_available":false},"cwes":["CWE-59"],"published":"2025-04-08T17:23:38Z","modified":"2026-08-10T15:12:34Z","exploits":[{"source":"pocgithub","id":"mmotti/Reset-inetpub","title":"mmotti/Reset-inetpub","date":"2025-04-24","url":"https://github.com/mmotti/Reset-inetpub"}],"products":[{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows 10 version 1507"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows 10 version 1607"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows 10 version 1809"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows 10 version 21h2"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows 10 version 22h2"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows 11 version 22h2"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows 11 version 22h3"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows 11 version 23h2"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows 11 version 24h2"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows server 2008 r2 service pack 1"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows server 2008 r2 service pack 1 (server core installation)"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows server 2008 service pack 2"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows server 2008 service pack 2 (server core installation)"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows server 2012"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows server 2012 (server core installation)"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows server 2012 r2"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows server 2012 r2 (server core installation)"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows server 2016"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows server 2016 (server core installation)"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows server 2019"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows server 2019 (server core installation)"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows server 2022"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows server 2022, 23h2 edition (server core installation)"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows server 2025"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows server 2025 (server core installation)"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows_10_1507"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows_10_1607"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows_10_1809"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows_10_21h2"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows_10_22h2"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows_11_22h2"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows_11_23h2"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows_11_24h2"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows_server_2008"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows_server_2012"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows_server_2016"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows_server_2019"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows_server_2022"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows_server_2022_23h2"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows_server_2025"}],"references":[{"url":"https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2025-21204","tags":["vendor-advisory","patch","Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.vicarius.io/vsociety/posts/cve-2025-21204-privilege-elevation-vulnerability-in-microsoft-windows-update-stack-mitigation-script","tags":["Mitigation"]},{"url":"https://www.vicarius.io/vsociety/posts/cve-2025-21204-privilege-elevation-vulnerability-in-microsoft-windows-update-stack-detection-script","tags":["Tool Signature"]},{"url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-21204"},{"url":"https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-429q-ccqc-32wq"}],"sources":{"cve":[{"id":"CVE-2025-21204","title":"Windows Process Activation Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability","description":"Improper link resolution before file access ('link following') in Windows Update Stack allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges 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