Windows
CVE-2025-32709
HIGH
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2021 - Vulnerable and Outdated Components
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Memory lifecycle management
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Privilege Escalation The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Impact | High risk (CVSS 7.8). AFD.sys, like CLFS, is a recurring kernel exploitation target. Its role in Winsock operations ensures it's loaded on every Windows system. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | Local exploit triggered through crafted Winsock operations that cause the AFD driver to dereference a null pointer in a controllable way, leading to kernel code execution and SYSTEM privilege escalation. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Mar 28, 2026
Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock contains a use-after-free enabling local privilege escalation through a null pointer dereference, exploited in May 2025.
Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
A use-after-free (manifesting as null pointer dereference) in Windows AFD.sys enables local privilege escalation. AFD.sys is a frequent target due to its always-loaded status and user-mode accessibility.
RemediationAI
Apply May 2025 security updates.
Affects your stack
Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
The CWE-416 vulnerability in afd.sys causes a null pointer dereference condition that can be exploited for privilege escalation through controlled kernel memory access patterns.
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- Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
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Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.
CVSS VectorNVD
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Null pointer dereference in Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
Executive ViewAI
Organizations using Null pointer dereference in Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock face notable risk from CVE-2025-32709, a use-after-free vulnerability rated CVSS 7.8. Exploitation could compromise the security of affected deployments. This vulnerability is actively exploited in the wild (KEV-listed) and requires immediate remediation. Immediate patching is required per CISA KEV mandate.
Apply vendor patch. If immediate patching is not feasible: (1) Enable ASLR and DEP where available; (2) Implement network segmentation; (3) Monitor for exploitation indicators.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Use-after-free vulnerabilities occur when a program continues to access memory through a pointer after that memory has been deallocated.
Memory corruption occurs when a program writes data beyond the boundaries of allocated memory regions or accesses memory in unintended ways, violating the integrity of the process's address space.
Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.
Affected Products (CPE)CVE.org
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NVD
CVE.org
CISA KEV
EPSS
VulDB
GitHub PoC
Exploit-DB