Exchange ServerApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2025-25006

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-08-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 15.02.2562.020 or later.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Improper handling of additional special element in Microsoft Exchange Server allows an unauthorized attacker to perform spoofing over a network.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

Microsoft Exchange Server contains a vulnerability where improper handling of an additional special element allows an unauthenticated attacker to perform spoofing attacks over the network. This represents an input validation flaw that could enable attackers to masquerade as legitimate users or systems in email communications.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates for Exchange Server once released. Monitor Microsoft's Security Response Center for patch availability and deployment timeline.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Exchange ServerApplication
Affected:= 2016= 2019
Exchange Server Subscription EditionApplication
Affected:< 15.02.2562.020

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Exchange Server version
    Open Exchange Management Shell and run: Get-ExchangeServer | Format-List Name, Edition, AdminDisplayVersion. Or check installed updates via Control Panel > Programs > View installed updates for Exchange security updates.
    Affected if The version is Exchange Server 2016 or 2019 (any build), or Exchange Server Subscription Edition with build number less than 15.02.2562.020
  2. Confirm internet-facing SMTP is enabled
    In Exchange Management Shell, run: Get-ReceiveConnector to list all receive connectors. Identify connectors that accept external connections (typically Default Frontend connectors on port 25).
    Affected if The server has receive connectors configured to accept connections from external/unauthenticated sources on port 25 (default SMTP)
  3. Verify anonymous access permissions on receive connectors
    In Exchange Management Shell, run: Get-ReceiveConnector | Get-ADPermission | Where-Object {$_.User -like '*Anonymous*'}. This shows if anonymous users can access each connector.
    Affected if Anonymous users have permission on any receive connector that accepts external mail (indicating the server can receive unauthenticated email from the internet)

A user is affected if they run an affected Exchange version (2016, 2019, or Subscription Edition < 15.02.2562.020) AND have receive connectors accepting unauthenticated external SMTP connections, which is typical for Exchange servers that receive email from the internet.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 15.02.2562.020 or later
Fixed in 15.02.2562.020
Interim mitigation

Apply Microsoft security updates for Exchange Server once released. Monitor Microsoft's Security Response Center for patch availability and deployment timeline.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Exchange Server Subscription Edition 15.02.2562.020 or later; Exchange Server 2016/2019 Cumulative Updates as specified in the corresponding security update KB

  1. Identify your current Microsoft Exchange Server version via Exchange Admin Center or Get-ExchangeServer cmdlet
  2. Review the Microsoft Security Response Center (msrc.microsoft.com) for CVE-2025-25006 and associated KB article
  3. Apply the security update corresponding to your Exchange version (KB500 line number varies by version)
  4. After patching, verify the update was successful by checking the Exchange version again
  5. Test critical email flow scenarios to ensure normal operation
Caveat Standard Exchange CU installation may require server downtime; test updates in staging environment before production deployment

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Exchange Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
Get the upgrade done

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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-25006 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-25006 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data