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MSRC compact vulnerability detail

CVE-2025-64658 · Windows File Explorer Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Concurrent execution using shared resource with improper synchronization ('race condition') in Windows Shell allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.

Severity
Important
Impact
Elevation of Privilege
CVSS
7.5 base · 6.5 temporal
Release
2025-12-09
Signals
Windows Shell Elevation of Privilege Exploited: No Publicly disclosed: No Exploitability: Exploitation Less Likely
CWE
CWE-362: Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition')
Patch Diff
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Description
Concurrent execution using shared resource with improper synchronization ('race condition') in Windows Shell allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
FAQ / Articles
FAQ
According to the CVSS metric, the attack complexity is high (AC:H). What does that mean for this vulnerability? For an attacker to exploit this vulnerability, they would need to have knowledge of a specific operation that triggers a memory allocation failure, specifically a use after free.
Windows Shell Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
Concurrent execution using shared resource with improper synchronization ('race condition') in Windows Shell 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.
FAQ
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 must send the user a malicious file and convince the user to open it.
FAQ
According to the CVSS metric, a successful exploitation could lead to a scope change (S:C). What does this mean for this vulnerability? This vulnerability could lead to a contained execution environment escape. Please refer to AppContainer Isolation for more information.