Windows Kernel Race Condition and Double Free Vulnerability (CVE-2025-62215) Local Privilege Escalation Advisory
Executive & SecOps Summary
SECOPS ASSESSMENTWindows operating system kernel components and environments utilizing shared resources
An authorized local attacker can trigger a race condition to cause kernel memory corruption, leading to local privilege escalation (LPE) to SYSTEM level
Immediately apply the official Microsoft cumulative security updates and restrict local access privileges on unpatched systems
Affected Products & Version Scope
Remediation & Live Workaround Commands
PATCH & WORKAROUND1. Official Patch & Version Upgrade Commands
Apply the latest cumulative updates (LCU) provided by Microsoft. You can force the update installation using PowerShell or via the Windows Update interface.
# Install and import the PSWindowsUpdate module to force cumulative updates
Install-Module PSWindowsUpdate -Force -SkipPublisherCheck
Get-WindowsUpdate -AcceptAll -Install -AutoReboot2. Temporary Workaround & Hardening Configuration
Since kernel-level race conditions cannot be easily mitigated via configuration changes, enforce the Principle of Least Privilege (PoLP) and restrict local interactive login capabilities until patches are applied.
# Audit local administrators group to ensure no unauthorized accounts exist
Get-LocalGroupMember -Group 'Administrators'
# Restrict PowerShell execution policy to prevent unauthorized script execution
Set-ExecutionPolicy Restricted -Scope LocalMachine -Force3. Log Audit & IoC Verification Commands
Verify the system patch level and monitor the Windows Event Logs for suspicious process creation or privilege escalation attempts.
# Check installed hotfixes to verify patch application status
Get-HotFix | Select-Object HotFixID, Description, InstalledOn | Sort-Object InstalledOn -Descending
# Audit Security Event Log for suspicious process creation under SYSTEM account (Event ID 4688)
Get-WinEvent -FilterHashtable @{LogName='Security'; ID=4688} -MaxEvents 100 |
Where-Object {$_.Message -like '*SubjectUserSid: S-1-5-18*'} |
Select-Object TimeCreated, Message | Format-ListBlock Kernel Privilege Escalation & Ransomware Payloads Before You Can Reboot
Protect unpatched Windows, Linux, and macOS workloads against in-memory exploitation and lateral movement with autonomous EDR.
Technical Root Cause & Exploitation Mechanics
1. Vulnerability Overview & Root Cause
This vulnerability (CVE-2025-62215) is a race condition (CWE-362) and double free (CWE-415) vulnerability in the Windows Kernel that occurs when executing concurrent operations on shared resources without proper synchronization. Due to inadequate multi-threaded access control over kernel objects, a state can be reached where a resource is freed, yet another thread attempts to access or free the same memory address again.
2. Exploitation Mechanics & Attack Scenario
An attacker with low-privileged local access on the target system executes a specially crafted multi-threaded exploit. The exploit code invokes specific kernel APIs to trigger concurrent access to shared resources, manipulating context switching timing to win the race condition. Once the double free condition is met, the kernel pool memory layout becomes corrupted. The attacker can then overwrite the freed memory space with arbitrary data, hijacking the execution flow to spawn a shell with SYSTEM privileges.
3. Infrastructure & Business Impact
This vulnerability has been actively exploited in the wild and is listed in the CISA KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities) catalog. Local Privilege Escalation (LPE) vulnerabilities are critical components of multi-stage attacks, often chained with initial access vectors (such as phishing or browser exploits) to perform lateral movement and domain compromise. Successful exploitation allows attackers to bypass security controls (EDR/AV), deploy ransomware, or establish persistent backdoors, posing a severe threat to business continuity.
Official Vendor Advisories & References
Concurrent execution using shared resource with improper synchronization ('race condition') in Windows Kernel allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
Frequently Asked SecOps Questions (CVE-2025-62215)
FAQQ1. How critical is CVE-2025-62215 and is it actively exploited in the wild?
CVE-2025-62215 is rated CVSS 7.0 (HIGH) with a 30-day EPSS exploitation probability of 4.5%. It is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, requiring immediate emergency remediation.
Q2. Which vendors and products are affected by CVE-2025-62215?
Primary impacted vendors include microsoft across windows, windows_kernel. Scope summary: All supported versions of Windows client and server operating systems utilizing the Windows Kernel (refer to Microsoft Security Update Guide for specific KB details)
Q3. What temporary mitigations or workarounds exist for CVE-2025-62215 before patching?
[Mitigation] Immediately apply the official Microsoft cumulative security updates and restrict local access privileges on unpatched systems Follow the CLI remediation commands and interactive SecOps checklist on this page to restrict exposure prior to your maintenance window.
Generate an Internal Engineering Notice or CISO Report for CVE-2025-62215
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