CVE-2025-49682: Windows Media Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Overview

Severity
High (CVSS 7.3)
CVSS Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C
Category
Elevation of Privilege
Exploit Status
Not Exploited
Exploitation Likelihood
Less Likely
Patch Tuesday
2025-Jul
Released
2025-07-08
EPSS Score
0.18% (percentile: 39.6%)

Description

Use after free in Windows Media allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.

FAQ

What privileges could be gained by an attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability? An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain SYSTEM privileges. According to the CVSS metric, user interaction is required (UI:R) and privileges required is Low (PR:L). What does that mean for this vulnerability An authorized attacker with privileges could send controlled inputs to exploit this vulnerability. User interaction is required because the vulnerable function is typically triggered through a diagnostic workflow, such as launching a video troubleshooting tool or initiating a certificate validation process. These actions often involve user-initiated steps like opening a UI or selecting a monitor.

Affected Products (17)

Windows

  • Windows Server 2022
  • Windows Server 2022 (Server Core installation)
  • Windows 10 Version 21H2 for 32-bit Systems
  • Windows 10 Version 21H2 for ARM64-based Systems
  • Windows 10 Version 21H2 for x64-based Systems
  • Windows Server 2025 (Server Core installation)
  • Windows 11 Version 23H2 for ARM64-based Systems
  • Windows 11 Version 23H2 for x64-based Systems
  • Windows Server 2022, 23H2 Edition (Server Core installation)
  • Windows 11 Version 24H2 for ARM64-based Systems
  • Windows 11 Version 24H2 for x64-based Systems
  • Windows Server 2025

ESU

  • Windows 11 Version 22H2 for ARM64-based Systems
  • Windows 11 Version 22H2 for x64-based Systems
  • Windows 10 Version 22H2 for x64-based Systems
  • Windows 10 Version 22H2 for ARM64-based Systems
  • Windows 10 Version 22H2 for 32-bit Systems

Security Updates (5)

Acknowledgments

<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/halrubaye/">Hussein Alrubaye</a> with Microsoft

Revision History

  • 2025-07-08: Information published.