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Uncontrolled Search Path (DLL Hijack)Weakness · CWE-427

CVE-2025-7472

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-07-17
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
75/100
Remediation priority · High

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
A local privilege escalation vulnerability in the Intercept X for Windows installer prior version 1.22 can lead to a local user gaining system level privileges, if the installer is run as SYSTEM.

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

A local privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the Intercept X for Windows installer before version 1.22. When the installer executes with SYSTEM privileges, a local authenticated user can manipulate the installation process to gain elevated SYSTEM-level code execution, bypassing standard privilege boundaries.

MitigationUpgrade Intercept X for Windows to version 1.22 or later to obtain the patched installer. As an interim measure, avoid running the installer with SYSTEM privileges unless necessary and ensure only trusted administrators have local access.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

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
High
Privileges
Low
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/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. Confirm Intercept X for Windows is installed
    Check Programs and Features or run: Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*' | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -like '*Intercept X*'} | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion
    Affected if No Intercept X for Windows entry is found - the product is not installed and the CVE does not apply
  2. Determine the installed version
    Locate the installed version number from the registry key above or via: (Get-Item 'C:\Program Files\Sophos\Intercept X\*.exe' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).VersionInfo.FileVersion
    Affected if The version number is lower than 1.22 - the installed version is vulnerable
  3. Verify if installer was executed with SYSTEM privileges
    Check Windows Event Log for installer events: Get-WinEvent -FilterHashtable @{LogName='Application','Setup'; ProviderName='Microsoft-Windows-Security-Auditing' } -MaxEvents 50 -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Where-Object {$_.Message -like '*Intercept X*' -and $_.Message -like '*SYSTEM*'}
    Affected if Evidence shows the installer ran with SYSTEM privileges within your environment - the exploitation condition exists
  4. Review installation directory permissions
    Inspect folder permissions on 'C:\Program Files\Sophos\Intercept X\' or the installation path found in registry. Run: Get-Acl 'C:\Program Files\Sophos\Intercept X' | Select-Object Owner, AccessToString
    Affected if Non-admin or untrusted users have write/modify permissions on the Intercept X installation directory - privilege escalation is possible
  5. Check for unauthorized SYSTEM-level processes
    Review running processes running as SYSTEM: Get-Process | Where-Object {$_.RunAsUser -eq 'NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM'} | Select-Object Name, Id. Look for unexpected executables in the Intercept X folder.
    Affected if Unexpected or unauthorized processes are running as SYSTEM - potential indicator of exploitation in progress

Your environment is affected if Intercept X for Windows is installed with a version lower than 1.22 and the installer was executed with SYSTEM privileges, allowing a local authenticated user to manipulate the installation 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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade Intercept X for Windows to version 1.22 or later to obtain the patched installer. As an interim measure, avoid running the installer with SYSTEM privileges unless necessary and ensure only trusted administrators have local access.

Recommended fix High confidence

Intercept X for Windows version 1.22 or later

  1. Identify the current version of Sophos Intercept X for Windows installed by checking the software or Sophos Central console
  2. Access Sophos Central admin console or Sophos support portal to obtain version 1.22 or later of Intercept X for Windows
  3. Deploy the updated Intercept X installer (version 1.22 or higher) to all affected Windows endpoints
  4. Verify the upgrade was successful by confirming the installed version displays 1.22 or later

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
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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-2025-7472 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