CVE-2025-49739: Visual Studio Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
CVE-2025-49739 is an elevation of privilege vulnerability in Visual Studio, rated Important by Microsoft, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8 (High). An attacker can exploit it remotely over the network, without any privileges and only if a user takes an action. Microsoft has not reported exploitation in the wild and rates exploitation as less likely. The EPSS model estimates a 0.95% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 62% of all scored vulnerabilities. Microsoft released the fix on 8 July 2025 in the July 2025 Patch Tuesday, delivered through 1 security update (KB5063035). It affects 7 products in 1 product family (Developer Tools).
Key facts
- CVE ID
- CVE-2025-49739
- Severity
- High CVSS 8.8
- Microsoft severity
- Important
- Impact
- Elevation of Privilege
- Exploited in the wild
- No
- Publicly disclosed
- No
- Exploitation likelihood
- Less Likely
- Weakness
- CWE-59
- EPSS
- 0.95% (percentile 62%)
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
- Released
- Last updated
- Patch Tuesday
- July 2025 Patch Tuesday
- Product families
- Developer Tools
CVSS score and vector
Microsoft scores CVE-2025-49739 at 8.8 (temporal 7.7) using CVSS 3.1. Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Attack vector | Network |
| Attack complexity | Low |
| Privileges required | None |
| User interaction | Required |
| Scope | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality impact | High |
| Integrity impact | High |
| Availability impact | High |
| Exploit code maturity | Unproven |
| Remediation level | Official fix |
| Report confidence | Confirmed |
Description
Improper link resolution before file access ('link following') in Visual Studio allows an unauthorized attacker to elevate privileges over a network.
Frequently asked questions (Microsoft)
What privileges could be gained by an attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability?
An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain SYSTEM privileges.
Affected products (7)
Developer Tools
| Product | Security update | Type | Fixed build | Restart |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Visual Studio 2017 version 15.9 (includes 15.0 - 15.8) | Release Notes | Security Update | 15.9.75 | Maybe |
| Microsoft Visual Studio 2019 version 16.11 (includes 16.0 - 16.10) | Release Notes | Security Update | 16.11.49 | Maybe |
| Microsoft Visual Studio 2022 version 17.12 | Release Notes | Security Update | 17.12.10 | Maybe |
| Microsoft Visual Studio 2022 version 17.8 | Release Notes | Security Update | 17.8.23 | Maybe |
| Microsoft Visual Studio 2022 version 17.10 | Release Notes | Security Update | 17.10.17 | Maybe |
| Microsoft Visual Studio 2015 Update 3 | KB5063035 | Security Update | 14.0.27564.0 | Maybe |
| Microsoft Visual Studio 2022 version 17.14 | Release Notes | Security Update | 17.14.8 | Maybe |
Security updates (1)
- KB5063035 (Security Update)
NIST NVD data
- NVD status
- Analyzed
- NVD CVSS
- 8.8 (HIGH)
- NVD weakness
- CWE-59
- Published to NVD
- NVD last modified
Affected configurations (CPE)
| Product | Vulnerable versions |
|---|---|
| visual studio 2015 | all listed versions |
| visual studio 2017 | from 15.0, before 15.9.75 |
| visual studio 2019 | from 16.0, before 16.11.49 |
| visual studio 2022 | from 17.8.0, before 17.8.23 |
| visual studio 2022 | from 17.10.0, before 17.10.17 |
| visual studio 2022 | from 17.12.0, before 17.12.10 |
| visual studio 2022 | from 17.14.0, before 17.14.8 |
References
- https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2025-49739 (Vendor Advisory)
Acknowledgments
Revision history
| Version | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Information published. |