Privilege Management for Windows: Privilege Chaining
CVE-2025-0889 is a high-severity privilege chaining vulnerability in Privilege Management for Windows from BeyondTrust, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. The record lists version 25.2 as the first without the flaw, so updating Privilege Management for Windows to that release or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.2% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Update Privilege Management for Windows to 25.2 or a later version.
- Read the advisory on beyondtrust.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| BeyondTrust | Privilege Management for Windows | before 25.2 | 25.2 |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- LowA basic user account is enough.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by NVD.
| Scoring system | Score | Severity | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 4.0 | 7.2 | High | CNA |
| CVSS 3.1 | 7.8 | High | NVD |
Official description
Prior to 25.2, a local authenticated attacker can elevate privileges on a system with Privilege Management for Windows installed, via the manipulation of COM objects under certain circumstances where an EPM policy allows for automatic privilege elevation of a user process.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Privilege Chaining
Two distinct privileges, roles, capabilities, or rights can be combined in a way that allows an entity to perform unsafe actions that would not be allowed without that combination.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Consider following the principle of separation of privilege. Require multiple conditions to be met before permitting access to a system resource.
- Very carefully manage the setting, management, and handling of privileges. Explicitly manage trust zones in the software.
- Run your code using the lowest privileges that are required to accomplish the necessary tasks. If possible, create isolated accounts with limited privileges that are only used for a single task. That way, a successful attack will not immediately give the attacker access to the rest of the software or its environment. For example, database applications rarely need to run as the database administrator, especially in day-to-day operations.
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: partial).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Other vulnerabilities in Privilege Management for Windows
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
Recent Privilege Chaining vulnerabilities
- 7.8 High severity
- 8.1 High severity
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