CVE-2025-47968
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 input validation 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 confidenceMicrosoft AutoUpdate contains an improper input validation vulnerability that allows a local authorized attacker to elevate privileges. The flaw likely involves insufficient validation of user-supplied input that can be manipulated to execute code at a higher privilege 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< 4.79CVSS 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 the /Applications folder for 'Microsoft AutoUpdate.app', or search using Spotlight for 'Microsoft AutoUpdate'. Also check within Microsoft Office application folders if present.Affected if Microsoft AutoUpdate.app exists on the system
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Determine the installed Microsoft AutoUpdate versionRight-click Microsoft AutoUpdate.app and select 'Get Info' to view the Version field, or run: defaults read /Applications/Microsoft\ AutoUpdate.app/Contents/Info CFBundleShortVersionStringAffected if Version number returned is lower than 4.79 (e.g., 4.78.x, 4.77.x, etc.)
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Check for recent MAU process executionReview system logs or use Activity Monitor to check if the Microsoft AutoUpdate process (com.microsoft.autoupdate) has run recently. Run: ps aux | grep -i autoupdateAffected if MAU process has executed and the installed version is below 4.79
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Assess local user access to MAU componentsExamine file permissions on the Microsoft AutoUpdate.app folder: ls -la /Applications/Microsoft\ AutoUpdate.app/Contents and check if standard users have write access to executable locationsAffected if Non-admin users have write access to MAU executable directories and the version is below 4.79
The environment is affected if Microsoft AutoUpdate is installed and its version is lower than 4.79, making local privilege escalation possible.
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 · scoped4.79
Apply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2025-47968 when released. Until then, restrict local user permissions and monitor for suspicious MAU process behavior.
Microsoft AutoUpdate version 4.79 or later
- Upgrade Microsoft AutoUpdate (MAU) to version 4.79 or later
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-47968 — 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-2025-47968 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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- 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
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