CVE-2025-47181
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes a local privilege escalation vulnerability in Microsoft Edge where an attacker can exploit improper link resolution to gain elevated privileges. It affects users running vulnerable versions of Microsoft Edge on Windows systems. The attacker must already have local access to the system.
💻 Affected Systems
- Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based)
📦 What is this software?
Edge Update by Microsoft
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
An attacker with local access could gain SYSTEM/administrator privileges, potentially leading to complete system compromise, data theft, or persistence mechanisms.
Likely Case
An authenticated user could elevate their privileges to install malware, modify system settings, or access restricted files and resources.
If Mitigated
With proper user account controls and limited local access, the impact would be contained to the user's own session with minimal lateral movement.
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires local access and some user interaction or social engineering. CWE-59 vulnerabilities typically involve symlink/hardlink manipulation.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Check Microsoft Edge update for specific version
Vendor Advisory: https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2025-47181
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open Microsoft Edge 2. Click Settings (three dots) → Help and feedback → About Microsoft Edge 3. Allow browser to check for and install updates 4. Restart browser when prompted
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Microsoft Edge
windowsTemporarily disable or uninstall Microsoft Edge if not required
Restrict local user privileges
windowsImplement least privilege principles for local user accounts
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict access controls and monitor for unusual privilege escalation attempts
- Use application whitelisting to prevent unauthorized program execution
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Microsoft Edge version in Settings → About Microsoft Edge and compare against patched versions in Microsoft advisoryCheck Version:
msedge --versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify Microsoft Edge version is updated to patched version and restart browser📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Windows Event Logs showing unexpected privilege escalation
- Microsoft Edge crash reports or unusual process behavior
Network Indicators:
- Not applicable - local vulnerability
SIEM Query:
EventID=4688 OR EventID=4689 with Microsoft Edge process and elevated privileges