Advisory Details

April 9th, 2025

Microsoft Windows dxkrnl Untrusted Pointer Dereference Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

ZDI-25-234
ZDI-CAN-25985

CVE ID CVE-2025-29812
CVSS SCORE 8.8, AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
AFFECTED VENDORS Microsoft
AFFECTED PRODUCTS Windows
VULNERABILITY DETAILS

This vulnerability allows local attackers to escalate privileges on affected installations of Microsoft Windows. An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability.

The specific flaw exists within the dxkrnl.sys driver. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of a user-supplied value prior to dereferencing it as a pointer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code in the context of SYSTEM.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS Microsoft has issued an update to correct this vulnerability. More details can be found at:
https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2025-29812
DISCLOSURE TIMELINE
  • 2025-01-30 - Vulnerability reported to vendor
  • 2025-04-09 - Coordinated public release of advisory
  • 2025-04-09 - Advisory Updated
CREDIT Micky Thongam - HackSys Inc
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