Windows UPnP Service Exposed: Privilege Escalation Risk in CVE-2025-48819
Introduction
In enterprise environments, privilege escalation vulnerabilities pose significant threats, enabling attackers to move laterally and compromise critical infrastructure. CVE-2025-48819 highlights a critical flaw within the Windows Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) Device Host service, exposing sensitive data due to improperly locked memory. This vulnerability allows attackers on the same network segment to escalate privileges, potentially leading to full system compromise.
Technical Information
CVE-2025-48819 arises from improper memory handling in the Windows UPnP Device Host service. Specifically, sensitive data such as authentication tokens and privileged credentials are stored in memory regions without adequate locking mechanisms. Attackers can exploit this vulnerability by sending specially crafted UDP packets to the SSDP service on port 1900. These packets trigger memory handling routines that inadvertently expose sensitive data through service responses.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-591 (Sensitive Data Storage in Improperly Locked Memory), indicating systemic memory management failures rather than specific protocol weaknesses. Attackers leverage memory probing and timing attacks to map and extract sensitive information, subsequently using stolen credentials to escalate privileges without triggering standard security alerts.
Patch Information
In the July 2025 Patch Tuesday release, Microsoft addressed a total of 137 vulnerabilities across various products, including Windows, Microsoft Office, SQL Server, and Visual Studio. Notably, this update included fixes for 41 remote code execution (RCE) vulnerabilities, 53 elevation of privilege vulnerabilities, and 18 information disclosure vulnerabilities.
One of the critical vulnerabilities patched is CVE-2025-47981, a heap-based buffer overflow in the Windows SPNEGO Extended Negotiation (NEGOEX) Security Mechanism. This flaw could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code remotely by sending a specially crafted message to a server. The patch for this vulnerability involves modifying the NEGOEX component to properly handle memory allocations and prevent buffer overflows.
Another significant fix addresses CVE-2025-49701, an improper authorization vulnerability in Microsoft SharePoint. This vulnerability could enable an attacker to bypass authentication mechanisms and gain unauthorized access to SharePoint resources. The update corrects the authorization logic to ensure that access controls are properly enforced, thereby mitigating the risk of unauthorized access.
Additionally, Microsoft resolved CVE-2025-49695, a use-after-free vulnerability in Microsoft Office. This flaw could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code by tricking a user into opening a malicious Office document. The patch involves updating the Office suite to handle object lifecycles correctly, preventing the use of freed memory and thus averting potential exploitation.
These updates are part of Microsoft's ongoing efforts to enhance the security of its products by addressing vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers. Users and administrators are strongly encouraged to apply these patches promptly to protect their systems from potential threats.
Affected Systems and Versions
The following Windows versions are specifically affected:
- Windows 10 (versions 1507-22H2)
- Windows 11 (versions 22H2-24H2)
- Windows Server 2019
- Windows Server 2022
- Windows Server 2025
Systems with the UPnP Device Host service enabled are particularly vulnerable.
Vendor Security History
Microsoft has previously encountered similar memory-related vulnerabilities, including CVE-2019-1405, CVE-2020-1319, and CVE-2022-21965. The recurrence of such vulnerabilities underscores ongoing challenges in legacy code remediation and memory management practices.
References
- Microsoft Security Advisory
- Windows Forum Analysis
- CWE-591 Definition
- BleepingComputer Patch Overview
- Cybersecurity News Patch Tuesday
- The Cyber Express Patch Tuesday
Source: This report was created using AI
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