Microsoft has disclosed an active exploitation of a zero-day vulnerability in the Windows Common Log File System (CLFS) driver, tracked as CVE-2025-29824.
The flaw, classified as an Elevation of Privilege (EoP) vulnerability, has been assigned a CVSS score of 7.8, indicating its significant security impact.
Technical Details
The vulnerability arises from a Use-After-Free (UAF) weakness identified under CWE-416, a category of memory corruption flaws that occur when a program attempts to access memory that has already been freed.
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In this instance, an attacker with local access to a system could exploit the vulnerability to gain elevated privileges, potentially taking full control of the targeted machine.
Microsoft has confirmed that the flaw exists in the CLFS driver, a fundamental component of Windows used for managing log file activity.
The vulnerability can allow attackers to execute arbitrary code with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts, as detailed in the CVSS vector string: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
Notably, the vulnerability is being actively exploited in the wild, with Microsoft observing functional exploit code in circulation. This underscores the urgency for users and organizations to apply patches immediately.
The exploitation of CVE-2025-29824 could allow attackers to bypass security mechanisms, install malicious programs, or exfiltrate sensitive data.
The vulnerability’s exploitability is heightened by its low attack complexity and the fact that it requires no user interaction. Additionally, only low privileges are needed to exploit the flaw, which broadens its potential attack surface.
Microsoft has assigned an “Important” severity rating to the vulnerability, emphasizing its potential for significant damage. However, since exploitation requires local access, the scope for remote attacks is somewhat limited.
Mitigation and Remediation
Microsoft has released an official patch as part of its latest security updates. Organizations and individual users are strongly encouraged to patch their systems immediately to mitigate the risk.
The patch can be accessed via Windows Update, or administrators can proactively download it from Microsoft’s official security portal.
For those unable to apply the patch immediately, Microsoft recommends limiting the physical and local access to vulnerable systems and ensuring other layers of security, such as endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools, are deployed.
The Windows CLFS vulnerability is another reminder of the growing sophistication of cyberattacks targeting kernel-level flaws.
Security researchers stress the importance of adopting a multi-layered approach to cybersecurity, which includes timely updates, alert monitoring, and advanced threat detection mechanisms.
Cybersecurity remains an ever-evolving battle, and proactive patch management is the key to staying ahead of emerging threats.
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