dbcve.org
Windows 10 1507Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2025-48820

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-07-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.10240.21073 / 10.0.14393.8246 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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 link resolution before file access ('link following') in Windows AppX Deployment Service 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 · high confidence

The Windows AppX Deployment Service contains a link following vulnerability where symbolic links are not properly resolved before file access, allowing a local authenticated attacker to manipulate file system operations and achieve privilege escalation to elevated SYSTEM-level privileges.

MitigationApply the relevant Microsoft security update for this vulnerability. Until patched, restrict local non-privileged user access to the system and monitor for suspicious AppX deployment activity.

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:< 10.0.10240.21073
Windows 10 1607Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.14393.8246
Windows 10 1809Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.17763.7558
Windows 10 21h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19044.6093
Windows 10 22h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19045.6093
Windows 11 22h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.22621.5624
Windows 11 23h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.22631.5624
Windows 11 24h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.26100.4652

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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify installed Windows version
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to obtain the exact build number, then compare against the affected version ranges: Windows 10 1507 (>=10.0.10240.21073), 1607 (>=10.0.14393.8246), 1809 (>=10.0.17763.7558), 21h2 (>=10.0.19044.6093), 22h2 (>=10.0.19045.6093); Windows 11 22h2 (>=10.0.22621.5624), 23h2 (>=10.0.22631.5624), 24h2 (>=10.0.26100.4652)
    Affected if The installed version is LOWER than any of the listed thresholds for the corresponding Windows release and build
  2. Confirm AppX Deployment Service status
    Open Services (services.msc) and locate the 'AppX Deployment Service' (AppXSvc), or run 'Get-Service AppXSvc' in PowerShell to check if the service is present and running
    Affected if The AppX Deployment Service is running and the Windows version is vulnerable as determined in step 1
  3. Verify current user context
    Run 'whoami /all' or check User Account Control (UAC) status to determine if the current user is a standard non-privileged user versus an administrator
    Affected if The current user is a standard (non-admin) authenticated local user, which is the attacker profile for this vulnerability
  4. Audit for symbolic link operations in AppX directories
    Use Sysmon or Windows Event Logging to monitor for creation of symbolic links (event ID 4688 with 'mklink' command) in user-accessible directories under %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Apps or %ProgramFiles%\WindowsApps, or inspect these directories manually for suspicious symbolic links
    Affected if Symbolic links exist in AppX-related directories that were created by a non-privileged user, indicating potential exploitation activity

A system is affected if it runs a Windows version lower than the patched builds AND has the AppX Deployment Service enabled, allowing a local authenticated non-admin user to potentially exploit the symlink handling for privilege escalation.

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 10.0.10240.21073 / 10.0.14393.8246 / 10.0.17763.7558 or later
Fixed in 10.0.10240.2107310.0.14393.824610.0.17763.7558
Interim mitigation

Apply the relevant Microsoft security update for this vulnerability. Until patched, restrict local non-privileged user access to the system and monitor for suspicious AppX deployment activity.

Recommended fix High confidence

Windows 10 1507: 10.0.10240.21073 | Windows 10 1607: 10.0.14393.8246 | Windows 10 1809: 10.0.17763.7558 | Windows 10 21h2: 10.0.19044.6093 | Windows 10 22h2: 10.0.19045.6093 | Windows 11 22h2: 10.0.22621.5624 | Windows 11 23h2: 10.0.22631.5624 | Windows 11 24h2: 10.0.26100.4652

  1. Open Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and click 'Check for updates'
  2. Install all available security updates for your Windows version
  3. Restart the computer if prompted to complete the installation
  4. Verify the update was applied by reviewing the update history in Windows Update settings

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
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2025-48820 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