Windows Active Directory Domain Vulnerability Let Attackers Escalate Privileges

Microsoft has disclosed a significant security vulnerability in Active Directory Domain Services that could allow attackers to elevate their privileges to the system level, potentially gaining complete control over affected systems. The vulnerability tracked as CVE-2025-29810, was patched as part of Microsoft’s April 2025 Patch Tuesday security update cycle. Security researchers classify the flaw as […] The post Windows Active Directory Domain Vulnerability Let Attackers Escalate Privileges appeared first on Cyber Security News.

Apr 9, 2025 - 17:09

Windows Active Directory Domain Vulnerability Let Attackers Escalate Privileges

Microsoft has disclosed a significant security vulnerability in Active Directory Domain Services that could allow attackers to elevate their privileges to the system level, potentially gaining complete control over affected systems.

The vulnerability tracked as CVE-2025-29810, was patched as part of Microsoft’s April 2025 Patch Tuesday security update cycle.

Security researchers classify the flaw as “important” with a CVSS score of 7.5, though Microsoft notes that exploitation in the wild appears unlikely at present.

Windows Active Directory Domain Vulnerability

The vulnerability stems from improper access control mechanisms in Windows Active Directory Domain Services, specifically falling under the CWE-284 weakness classification.

According to Microsoft’s security advisory, successful exploitation requires an attacker to already have low-level privileges on the network before they can attempt to exploit the vulnerability.

The attack vector is network-based but requires a high level of attack complexity, meaning potential attackers would need to gather environment-specific information and prepare the target network before exploitation.

The CVSS vector string for this vulnerability is “CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C,” indicating a network attack vector, high attack complexity, low privileges required, and no user interaction needed for exploitation.

The vulnerability impacts all three security aspects – confidentiality, integrity, and availability – with a “high” rating for each.

The summary of the vulnerability is given below:

Risk Factors	Details
Affected Products	Windows Active Directory Domain Services
Impact	Elevation of Privilege
Exploit Prerequisites	– Network-based attack- High attack complexity- Low privileges required- No user interaction needed
CVSS Score	7.5 (Important)

Exploitation Potential

Security analysts note that while the vulnerability is severe, Microsoft has classified its exploitability as “Less Likely” due to the complexity involved.

An attacker who successfully leverages this flaw could elevate their privileges to SYSTEM level, essentially gaining complete control over the compromised system.

The vulnerability appears to involve manipulations of Active Directory’s internal authentication mechanisms, though Microsoft has not released specific technical details to prevent providing a roadmap for potential attackers.

Microsoft has released patches for most affected systems in their April security update cycle. However, updates for Windows 10 for x64-based Systems and Windows 10 for 32-bit Systems are not immediately available and will be released “as soon as possible,” according to the advisory.

“This vulnerability represents a significant risk to enterprise environments with Active Directory implementations,” said Dr. Jane Marshall, cybersecurity researcher at Digital Fortress Institute.

“While the exploitation complexity is high, organizations should prioritize patching as the potential impact is substantial.”

Recommendations for System Administrators

Security experts recommend that system administrators take the following immediate actions:

Apply available patches to domain controllers and member servers as soon as possible
Monitor network traffic for suspicious authentication attempts
Implement the principle of least privilege across domain environments
Watch for Microsoft’s forthcoming updates for the Windows 10 systems currently lacking patches

The vulnerability was discovered and reported to Microsoft by security researcher Matthieu Buffet through coordinated vulnerability disclosure.

The company has confirmed that there is no evidence of this vulnerability being publicly disclosed or exploited in attacks prior to the patch release.

This incident highlights the ongoing importance of proper access control mechanisms in enterprise directory services and the critical nature of prompt security patching, especially for core infrastructure components like Active Directory Domain Services.

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