CVE-2025-47968 Overview
CVE-2025-47968 is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in Microsoft AutoUpdate (MAU) for macOS. The flaw stems from improper input validation ([CWE-20]) in the update service. An authorized local attacker can abuse the validation gap to elevate privileges on the affected host. Microsoft published an advisory on the MSRC portal and issued a fix.
Critical Impact
A local attacker with low privileges can gain elevated privileges on macOS systems running vulnerable versions of Microsoft AutoUpdate, resulting in full confidentiality, integrity, and availability compromise of the host.
Affected Products
- Microsoft AutoUpdate (MAU) for macOS
- Microsoft Office for Mac deployments that ship MAU as their update mechanism
- Any macOS endpoint where a vulnerable Microsoft AutoUpdate.app is installed
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-06-10 - CVE-2025-47968 published to NVD
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-47968
Vulnerability Analysis
Microsoft AutoUpdate runs privileged helper components on macOS to fetch, verify, and install updates for Office and other Microsoft products. Privileged helpers of this kind execute with elevated rights and must strictly validate every input received from lower-privileged callers. In CVE-2025-47968, MAU fails to properly validate input supplied by a local, authorized user. This gap allows the attacker to influence privileged operations from an unprivileged context. The result is a local elevation of privilege on the macOS endpoint.
The weakness is classified under [CWE-20] Improper Input Validation. Because the attack vector is local and requires authentication, exploitation depends on an attacker already holding a foothold, for example through a phished user session or a compromised standard account. User interaction is not required once the attacker has that foothold.
Root Cause
The root cause is missing or insufficient validation of parameters passed to the AutoUpdate service. When a privileged component trusts caller-supplied data such as file paths, identifiers, or command arguments without verifying them, the caller can steer privileged actions into unintended targets. This pattern is a common source of local privilege escalation in macOS helper tools registered with launchd or SMJobBless.
Attack Vector
Exploitation requires local access to the macOS host with a valid, low-privileged account. The attacker interacts with the vulnerable AutoUpdate component and supplies crafted input that bypasses expected validation. The privileged service then performs an operation on behalf of the attacker, yielding code execution or file operations with higher privileges. No public proof-of-concept, ExploitDB entry, or CISA KEV listing is associated with this CVE at the time of writing.
No verified exploit code is publicly available. Refer to the Microsoft CVE-2025-47968 Advisory for vendor-provided technical details.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-47968
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected child processes spawned by Microsoft AutoUpdate.app, Microsoft Update Assistant.app, or the com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper privileged helper.
- New or modified files under /Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MAU2.0/ or /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/ that do not match a signed Microsoft installer flow.
- Local user sessions triggering AutoUpdate XPC activity outside of scheduled update windows.
Detection Strategies
- Monitor process lineage on macOS endpoints for privileged helpers launching shells, osascript, or arbitrary binaries not signed by Microsoft.
- Alert on writes to system directories performed by processes whose parent chain includes MAU components but whose target paths fall outside expected update destinations.
- Correlate MAU activity with the invoking user identity and flag executions initiated by standard users that result in root-owned changes.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Ingest macOS Endpoint Security Framework (ESF) telemetry into a central data lake and retain process, file, and XPC events for at least 90 days.
- Track installed versions of Microsoft AutoUpdate across the fleet and alert when hosts drift below the patched build.
- Baseline normal MAU update cadence per host so anomalous or attacker-triggered invocations stand out.
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-47968
Immediate Actions Required
- Update Microsoft AutoUpdate to the fixed version referenced in the Microsoft CVE-2025-47968 Advisory on every macOS endpoint.
- Inventory macOS hosts to identify systems still running vulnerable MAU builds and prioritize shared or multi-user Macs.
- Restrict interactive local access on developer and executive endpoints until patching is confirmed.
Patch Information
Microsoft has released a patched version of Microsoft AutoUpdate that addresses the improper input validation. Administrators should force MAU to check for updates using msupdate --install or deploy the updated .pkg through their macOS management tool (Jamf, Intune for Mac, Kandji, Munki). Confirm remediation by verifying the AutoUpdate version reported in About Microsoft AutoUpdate matches or exceeds the fixed build listed in the vendor advisory.
Workarounds
- Where immediate patching is not possible, limit standard-user access on affected Macs and enforce full-disk encryption plus screen-lock policies to reduce local attack opportunity.
- Remove Microsoft AutoUpdate from endpoints that do not require it and manage Microsoft product updates centrally through MDM package deployment.
- Apply application allow-listing to restrict which binaries can be launched via MAU helper components.
# Verify installed Microsoft AutoUpdate version on macOS
defaults read "/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MAU2.0/Microsoft AutoUpdate.app/Contents/Info.plist" CFBundleVersion
# Trigger an update check and install available updates for Microsoft apps
/Library/Application\ Support/Microsoft/MAU2.0/Microsoft\ AutoUpdate.app/Contents/MacOS/msupdate --install
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
