CVE-2025-29810: Windows 10 1507 Privilege Escalation Flaw

CVE-2025-29810 Overview

CVE-2025-29810 is a privilege escalation vulnerability in Microsoft Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) caused by improper access control. This vulnerability allows an authenticated attacker with low privileges to elevate their permissions over a network, potentially gaining unauthorized access to sensitive domain resources and administrative capabilities.

Active Directory Domain Services is a critical component of Windows enterprise environments, serving as the central authentication and authorization mechanism for domain-joined systems. The improper access control flaw in AD DS poses significant risks to enterprise security posture, as successful exploitation could allow attackers to compromise the entire domain infrastructure.

Critical Impact

Authenticated attackers can escalate privileges within Active Directory environments, potentially gaining domain administrator access and compromising the entire enterprise infrastructure.

Affected Products

• Microsoft Windows 10 (versions 1507, 1607, 1809, 21H2, 22H2)
• Microsoft Windows 11 (versions 22H2, 23H2, 24H2)
• Microsoft Windows Server 2008 SP2 (including R2 SP1)
• Microsoft Windows Server 2012 (including R2)
• Microsoft Windows Server 2016
• Microsoft Windows Server 2019
• Microsoft Windows Server 2022 (including 23H2)
• Microsoft Windows Server 2025

Discovery Timeline

• April 8, 2025 - CVE-2025-29810 published to NVD
• July 10, 2025 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-29810

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability stems from improper access control mechanisms within Active Directory Domain Services. The flaw allows authenticated users with low-level privileges to bypass intended access restrictions and escalate their permissions within the domain environment. The attack requires network access and low-level authentication, but does not require user interaction, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where attackers may already have a foothold through compromised credentials or initial access techniques.

The exploitation complexity is considered high, indicating that while the vulnerability is exploitable, attackers need to overcome certain conditions or prerequisites to successfully escalate privileges. However, successful exploitation can result in complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the targeted systems.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2025-29810 is classified under CWE-284 (Improper Access Control). This weakness occurs when software does not properly restrict access to resources or functionality by authorized actors. In the context of Active Directory Domain Services, this manifests as insufficient validation of access permissions, allowing authenticated users to perform actions or access resources beyond their intended authorization level.

The improper access control affects the domain services' ability to properly enforce permission boundaries, creating an opportunity for privilege escalation attacks within the Active Directory hierarchy.

Attack Vector

The attack vector for CVE-2025-29810 is network-based, requiring the attacker to have:

1. Network connectivity to the target Active Directory environment
2. Valid low-privileged credentials (any authenticated domain user)
3. Ability to send specially crafted requests to the AD DS service

The attacker can leverage their existing domain account to exploit the improper access control, potentially escalating to higher privilege levels including domain administrator. This attack path is particularly concerning as many organizations have numerous users with basic domain authentication, any of whom could potentially exploit this vulnerability if compromised.

The vulnerability does not require user interaction, meaning an attacker can exploit it entirely through automated means once the prerequisites are met.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-29810

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual privilege escalation events in Windows Security Event logs (Event IDs 4672, 4673, 4674)
• Unexpected modifications to Active Directory objects, particularly security-sensitive attributes
• Anomalous authentication patterns from low-privileged accounts attempting to access high-privilege resources
• Changes to group memberships, especially additions to privileged groups like Domain Admins

Detection Strategies

• Enable and monitor Windows Security Event logging for privilege use and Active Directory changes
• Implement Active Directory auditing policies to track object access and modifications
• Deploy behavioral analytics to detect abnormal privilege escalation patterns
• Configure alerts for modifications to sensitive AD objects and group memberships
• Utilize SentinelOne's Singularity platform for real-time detection of suspicious AD activity

Monitoring Recommendations

• Monitor Domain Controller event logs for unusual authentication and authorization events
• Track LDAP queries and directory service access patterns for anomalies
• Implement privileged access monitoring for all administrative operations
• Review Active Directory replication traffic for unauthorized changes

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-29810

Immediate Actions Required

• Apply Microsoft security updates from the April 2025 Patch Tuesday release immediately
• Review and audit current Active Directory permissions and group memberships
• Implement the principle of least privilege across all domain accounts
• Enable enhanced logging and monitoring on all Domain Controllers
• Consider implementing tiered administration model for Active Directory

Patch Information

Microsoft has released security updates to address CVE-2025-29810 as part of their regular security update cycle. Patches are available for all affected Windows versions through Windows Update and the Microsoft Update Catalog. Organizations should prioritize patching Domain Controllers and systems running Active Directory Domain Services.

For detailed patch information and download links, refer to the Microsoft Security Response Center advisory.

Workarounds

• Implement network segmentation to limit access to Domain Controllers from untrusted network segments
• Enable Protected Users security group for privileged accounts to prevent credential exposure
• Deploy additional authentication requirements such as multi-factor authentication for privileged access
• Consider implementing Microsoft's Enhanced Security Administrative Environment (ESAE) architecture
• Use credential guard and other Windows security features to protect domain credentials

# Enable Advanced Audit Policy for Active Directory
auditpol /set /subcategory:"Directory Service Access" /success:enable /failure:enable
auditpol /set /subcategory:"Directory Service Changes" /success:enable /failure:enable
auditpol /set /subcategory:"Security Group Management" /success:enable /failure:enable
auditpol /set /subcategory:"User Account Management" /success:enable /failure:enable