CVE-2025-50174 Overview
CVE-2025-50174 is a use-after-free vulnerability [CWE-416] in the Windows Device Association Broker service. An authorized local attacker can exploit the flaw to elevate privileges on affected systems. Microsoft published the advisory on October 14, 2025. The issue affects current Windows 11 releases and Windows Server 2025. Successful exploitation yields high impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Attack complexity is rated high, requiring the attacker to win a specific memory-state race before triggering the freed object reuse.
Critical Impact
A local, authenticated attacker who successfully exploits this flaw can escalate to higher privileges on the affected Windows host, undermining local security boundaries.
Affected Products
- Microsoft Windows 11 24H2
- Microsoft Windows 11 25H2
- Microsoft Windows Server 2025
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-10-14 - CVE-2025-50174 published to NVD
- 2025-10-14 - Microsoft releases security update addressing the flaw
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-50174
Vulnerability Analysis
The Device Association Broker service (deviceassociationbrokersvc) manages pairing and association between Windows and external devices such as Bluetooth peripherals and companion hardware. The service exposes RPC interfaces reachable from user-mode callers on the local system. A use-after-free condition in this component allows a local authenticated attacker to reference a memory object after it has been released. Controlling the reallocation of that freed region enables the attacker to hijack execution flow within a privileged service context. The result is local privilege escalation from a standard user to a higher integrity level.
Root Cause
The root cause is improper object lifetime management inside the Device Association Broker service. An object is freed while another code path still holds a dangling reference. When that reference is later dereferenced, the memory may hold attacker-controlled data. This is a classic [CWE-416] Use After Free pattern typically caused by missing reference counting, race conditions between threads, or premature deallocation during error handling.
Attack Vector
Exploitation requires local access and low-privilege authentication. The attacker interacts with the broker service through its exposed interfaces and triggers the code path that frees the target object. The attacker then races to reallocate the freed memory with controlled contents before the stale pointer is used. High attack complexity reflects the timing sensitivity of winning this race and shaping the heap. No user interaction is required. Successful exploitation runs code within the service context, delivering the privilege escalation.
No public proof-of-concept or verified exploit code was available at the time of this writing. Refer to the Microsoft CVE-2025-50174 Advisory for vendor-supplied technical detail.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-50174
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected crashes, exceptions, or restarts of the DeviceAssociationBrokerSvc service recorded in the System event log.
- Creation of new processes or threads spawned by svchost.exe hosting the Device Association Broker with unusual parent-child relationships.
- Standard user accounts suddenly executing operations that require elevated privileges shortly after interacting with device pairing interfaces.
Detection Strategies
- Hunt for repeated Windows Error Reporting entries referencing the Device Association Broker service, which can indicate failed exploitation attempts.
- Correlate token elevation events (Event ID 4672) with the originating process lineage to identify unexpected privilege grants tied to broker service activity.
- Monitor for anomalous RPC traffic to the Device Association Broker interface from processes that do not normally pair devices.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable process creation auditing (Event ID 4688) with command-line logging on all endpoints and servers running Windows 11 24H2, 25H2, and Server 2025.
- Ingest Sysmon and Windows Security telemetry into a centralized analytics platform to baseline normal broker service behavior.
- Track patch deployment status for the October 2025 cumulative updates across the fleet to identify unpatched hosts.
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-50174
Immediate Actions Required
- Apply the Microsoft security updates released for Windows 11 24H2, Windows 11 25H2, and Windows Server 2025 as documented in the vendor advisory.
- Inventory endpoints and servers to confirm patch installation and remediate any hosts that fail update deployment.
- Restrict interactive and remote logon rights on affected systems to trusted users to limit the local attack surface.
Patch Information
Microsoft addressed CVE-2025-50174 through the October 2025 security update cycle. Consult the Microsoft CVE-2025-50174 Advisory for the exact KB numbers and package identifiers that correspond to each affected build.
Workarounds
- No official workaround has been published by Microsoft; installing the security update is the supported remediation.
- If patching must be delayed, enforce least privilege and disable local logon for non-essential accounts on affected hosts.
- Monitor Device Association Broker service crashes and RPC activity closely until patches are deployed.
# Verify installed updates on an affected Windows host
wmic qfe list brief /format:table
# Query the Device Association Broker service state
sc.exe query DeviceAssociationBrokerSvc
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
