CVE-2025-7073
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 · uneditedA local privilege escalation vulnerability in Bitdefender Total Security versions prior to 27.0.47.241 allows low-privileged attackers to elevate privileges. The issue arises from bdservicehost.exe deleting files from a user-writable directory (C:\ProgramData\Atc\Feedback) without proper symbolic link validation, enabling arbitrary file deletion. This issue is chained with a file copy operation during network events and a filter driver bypass via DLL injection to achieve arbitrary file copy and code execution as elevated user.
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 confidenceA local privilege escalation in Bitdefender Total Security's bdservicehost.exe allows low-privileged users to gain SYSTEM privileges. The vulnerability stems from unsanitized file deletion operations in a user-writable directory (C:\ProgramData\Atc\Feedback) that can be exploited via symbolic link attacks. This is chained with a file copy operation during network events and a filter driver bypass through DLL injection to achieve arbitrary code execution at elevated privilege levels.
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< 30.0.25.77< 27.0.47.241< 7.9.20.515< 27.0.47.241< 27.0.47.241CVSS 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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Identify installed Bitdefender productOpen Programs and Features in Control Panel or run 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion' in PowerShell to find which Bitdefender product is installedAffected if Any of the following products are installed: Bitdefender Antivirus, Antivirus Plus, Endpoint Security Tools, Internet Security, or Total Security
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Check installed Bitdefender versionRun 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion' or check the version displayed in the Bitdefender application UI under About/SupportAffected if The version is less than 30.0.25.77 for Bitdefender Antivirus, or less than 27.0.47.241 for Antivirus Plus/Internet Security/Total Security, or less than 7.9.20.515 for Endpoint Security Tools
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Verify bdservicehost.exe is runningOpen Task Manager or run 'Get-Process bdservicehost' in PowerShell to check if the process is activeAffected if The bdservicehost.exe process is running (the vulnerability requires this service to be active)
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Check if vulnerable directory exists and is writableRun 'Test-Path C:\ProgramData\Atc\Feedback' and verify write permissions by attempting to create a test file in that directory with a standard user accountAffected if The directory C:\ProgramData\Atc\Feedback exists and is writable by low-privileged users (this is the directory used in the symbolic link attack)
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Verify service runs with elevated privilegesRun 'Get-Process bdservicehost -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select-Object Name, ProcessId, @{Name='User';Expression={(Get-CimInstance Win32_Process -Filter "ProcessId=$($_.Id)").GetOwner().User}}' in PowerShell or check service properties in Services.mscAffected if The bdservicehost service runs under the SYSTEM or LocalSystem account (which enables the privilege escalation)
You are affected if a Bitdefender product from the list is installed with a version below the thresholds AND the bdservicehost.exe service is running with SYSTEM privileges AND the C:\ProgramData\Atc\Feedback directory is writable by standard users.
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 · scoped7.9.20.51527.0.47.24130.0.25.77
Upgrade Bitdefender Total Security to version 27.0.47.241 or later, which contains proper symbolic link validation and secure file operation handling in the bdservicehost.exe component.
Upgrade to Antivirus 30.0.25.77 or higher; Antivirus Plus 27.0.47.241 or higher; Endpoint Security Tools 7.9.20.515 or higher; Internet Security 27.0.47.241 or higher; Total Security 27.0.47.241 or higher
- 1. Identify the specific Bitdefender product installed (Antivirus, Antivirus Plus, Endpoint Security Tools, Internet Security, or Total Security)
- 2. Open the Bitdefender interface and navigate to Settings or About section to confirm current version
- 3. For Automatic Update: Ensure the product is configured to receive automatic updates and allow it to update to the latest version
- 4. For Manual Update: Download the latest installer from the official Bitdefender download page at www.bitdefender.com
- 5. Run the installer with administrator privileges and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the upgrade
- 6. After installation, verify the version matches or exceeds the fixed release: Antivirus 30.0.25.77, Antivirus Plus 27.0.47.241, Endpoint Security Tools 7.9.20.515, Internet Security 27.0.47.241, or Total Security 27.0.47.241
- 7. Restart the system if prompted to ensure all services load the updated components
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-7073 — 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-2025-7073 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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