CVE-2025-55317
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 link resolution before file access ('link following') 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 (MAU) contains a link following vulnerability where the application improperly resolves symbolic links before accessing files. An authorized local attacker can exploit this to escalate privileges by manipulating symlinks to point to sensitive files or locations that the MAU process accesses with elevated permissions.
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< 4.80CVSS 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 MAU installation by looking in Program Files (e.g., C:\Program Files\Microsoft AutoUpdate) or check the Windows registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for an entry named Microsoft AutoUpdateAffected if Microsoft AutoUpdate is present on the system
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Determine installed MAU versionLocate the MAU executable (e.g., MicrosoftAutoUpdate.exe) in the installation directory, right-click and select Properties, then check the Details tab for the Product Version, or query via command: wmic product where "name like 'Microsoft AutoUpdate'" get versionAffected if Version returned is lower than 4.80 (e.g., 4.79, 4.78, etc.)
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Check if MAU service runs with elevated privilegesOpen Services (services.msc), locate the Microsoft AutoUpdate service, right-click and select Properties, then check the Log On tab to see if it runs under LocalSystem or another privileged accountAffected if The service runs under LocalSystem, Administrator, or another privileged account (vulnerability requires elevated access to be exploitable)
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Verify symlink creation permissions for local attacker contextCheck if the user context from which you want to detect exploitation has write access to directories that MAU accesses (common locations include %ProgramData%\Microsoft\AutoUpdate or %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\AutoUpdate). Use icacls command to view permissionsAffected if Low-privilege users have write access to directories that MAU process accesses with elevated permissions
Your environment is affected if Microsoft AutoUpdate is installed with a version lower than 4.80 AND the MAU process runs with elevated privileges, allowing a local attacker to manipulate symlinks for privilege escalation.
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 · scoped4.80
Apply Microsoft security updates for Microsoft AutoUpdate (MAU) as soon as they become available. Verify that Windows systems are receiving regular patch updates through Windows Update or enterprise patch management systems.
Microsoft AutoUpdate version 4.80 or later
- Open Microsoft AutoUpdate on the affected system
- Navigate to the Check for Updates or equivalent menu option
- Ensure the application updates to version 4.80 or later
- Verify the installed version matches or exceeds 4.80
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 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 $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-55317 — 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-2025-55317 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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