CVE-2025-29800
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 · uneditedImproper privilege management in Microsoft AutoUpdate (MAU) allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
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 confidenceThis is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in Microsoft AutoUpdate (MAU) stemming from improper privilege management. An authorized attacker with local system access can exploit this flaw to elevate their privileges beyond their current authorization level.
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< 4.78CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify Microsoft AutoUpdate is installedCheck for the presence of MAU by looking in 'C:\Program Files\Microsoft AutoUpdate' or 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft AutoUpdate', or query the registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\AutoUpdateAffected if If the MAU directory exists or the registry key is present, the software is installed and potentially affected
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Determine the installed MAU versionOpen File Properties for 'Microsoft AutoUpdate.app' or 'msou.dll' in the MAU installation directory, or run: (Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\AutoUpdate' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).VersionAffected if If the version number returned is less than 4.78, the system is vulnerable
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Check MAU service executable version directlyNavigate to the MAU installation folder, right-click on the main executable (typically named 'Microsoft AutoUpdate.app'), select Properties, and view the File Version fieldAffected if If the executable version shows a build number lower than 4.78, the vulnerability is present
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Verify if MAU runs with elevated privilegesOpen Task Manager, find the Microsoft AutoUpdate process, right-click and select 'Run as administrator' to observe if it operates with elevated tokens, or inspect via Sysinternals Process ExplorerAffected if If MAU runs with elevated privileges and the version is below 4.78, the privilege escalation flaw can potentially be exploited
A system is affected if Microsoft AutoUpdate is installed with a version lower than 4.78 and the application operates with elevated privileges that could be exploited by a local attacker.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped4.78
Apply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2025-29800 once released, or implement any available workarounds while awaiting the patch. Prioritize patching systems with direct user access.
Microsoft AutoUpdate version 4.78 or later
- Open Microsoft AutoUpdate on the affected system
- Check the current version under the Microsoft AutoUpdate menu > About Microsoft AutoUpdate
- If version is below 4.78, initiate an update: go to Microsoft AutoUpdate menu > Check for Updates
- Allow the update to download and install version 4.78 or later
- Verify the installed version is 4.78 or higher after the update completes
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,408.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-29800 — 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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-29800 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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