dbcve.org
Windows 10 1507Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2025-32721

HIGH · 7.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-06-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.10240.21034 / 10.0.14393.8148 or later.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated

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 link resolution before file access ('link following') in Windows Recovery Driver 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 confidence

This is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in the Windows Recovery Driver. The flaw involves improper symbolic link resolution before file access (link following), allowing an authorized attacker to manipulate symlinks to gain elevated privileges on the local system.

MitigationApply Microsoft security patches for Windows Recovery Driver when available. Until then, restrict local access to trusted users only and monitor for suspicious symlink creation in recovery-related directories.

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
Windows 10 1507Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.10240.21034
Windows 10 1607Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.14393.8148
Windows 10 1809Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.17763.7434
Windows 10 21h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19044.5965
Windows 10 22h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19045.5965
Windows 11 22h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.22621.5472
Windows 11 23h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.22631.5472
Windows 11 24h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.26100.4270

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/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 checks

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

  1. Determine Windows version and build number
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Version"' to get the full version string including build number
    Affected if The build number falls below the thresholds: 10240.21034 (1507), 14393.8148 (1607), 17763.7434 (1809), 19044.5965 (21h2), 19045.5965 (22h2), 22621.5472 (11 22h2), 22631.5472 (11 23h2), 26100.4270 (11 24h2)
  2. Verify Windows Recovery Environment is enabled
    Run 'reagentc /info' from an elevated command prompt to check the Windows Recovery Environment status
    Affected if The recovery environment is enabled (Status: Enabled) and the Windows version is below the patched build numbers listed above
  3. Check for suspicious symbolic links in recovery directories
    Run 'mklink' or inspect directories under C:\Windows\System32\Recovery and %SystemRoot%\System32\Config\SYSTEM for any recently created symbolic links or junction points using 'dir /AL /S C:\Windows\System32\Recovery'
    Affected if Unexpected symbolic links or junction points exist in recovery-related directories, especially if created by low-privileged users
  4. Audit recent security event logs for symlink creation
    Open Event Viewer, navigate to Windows Logs > Security, and filter for Event ID 4688 (Process Creation) where the command line contains 'mklink' or Event ID 4663 (Object Access) for symlink operations in recovery paths
    Affected if Symlink creation events are logged for recovery directories from processes running under non-admin accounts

The system is affected if it runs a Windows version with a build number below the thresholds AND has Windows Recovery Environment enabled, making symlink-based privilege escalation possible.

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 10.0.10240.21034 / 10.0.14393.8148 / 10.0.17763.7434 or later
Fixed in 10.0.10240.2103410.0.14393.814810.0.17763.7434
Interim mitigation

Apply Microsoft security patches for Windows Recovery Driver when available. Until then, restrict local access to trusted users only and monitor for suspicious symlink creation in recovery-related directories.

Recommended fix High confidence

Windows 10 1507: Build 10.0.10240.21034 | Windows 10 1607: Build 10.0.14393.8148 | Windows 10 1809: Build 10.0.17763.7434 | Windows 10 21h2: Build 10.0.19044.5965 | Windows 10 22h2: Build 10.0.19045.5965 | Windows 11 22h2: Build 10.0.22621.5472 | Windows 11 23h2: Build 10.0.22631.5472 | Windows 11 2

  1. Open Windows Settings on the affected system
  2. Navigate to Windows Update (Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update)
  3. Click 'Check for updates' to download and install the latest security updates
  4. Alternatively, manually download the security update from the Microsoft Update Catalog (catalog.update.microsoft.com) by searching for the KB article associated with CVE-2025-32721
  5. Restart the system when prompted to complete the installation
  6. Verify the installed build number matches or exceeds the fixed version for your Windows release
Caveat Standard Windows security update; no breaking changes expected for typical deployments

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

Fix this in Windows 10 1507 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
32.0 hours of engineering $5,600
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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-2025-32721 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