CVE-2025-50155: Type Confusion Vulnerability in Windows Push Notifications leads to Privilege Escalation

Overview

The cybersecurity landscape is constantly evolving, with new vulnerabilities being discovered on a regular basis. One such vulnerability that poses a significant risk to Windows users is CVE-2025-50155. This vulnerability involves the improper handling of resource types in Windows Push Notifications, potentially allowing an authorized attacker to escalate their privileges locally. This poses a direct threat to the integrity of affected systems, as an attacker could leverage this vulnerability to gain unauthorized access to sensitive data or even take full control of the system.

Vulnerability Summary

CVE ID: CVE-2025-50155
Severity: High (7.8 CVSS v3.0 Severity Score)
Attack Vector: Local
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: Required
Impact: Potential system compromise or data leakage

Affected Products

Product | Affected Versions

Windows OS | All versions up to latest patch

How the Exploit Works

The vulnerability exploits a type confusion issue in Windows Push Notifications. In a type confusion vulnerability, the software doesn’t verify or incorrectly verifies the type of object or resource that is being used, leading to logical errors. In the case of CVE-2025-50155, an attacker who is locally authenticated can trigger this vulnerability by sending specially crafted push notifications. The improper handling of these notifications by the Windows system can lead to an escalation of privileges, potentially giving the attacker the same rights as an administrator.

Conceptual Example Code

Here’s a simple conceptual representation of how an attacker might exploit this vulnerability:

// Attacker gains local access
$ ssh user@vulnerable.system
// Attacker sends specially crafted push notification
$ send_push_notification --type=malicious_object --payload="payload"

It’s important to note that this is a simplified representation for illustrative purposes. In practice, exploiting this vulnerability would likely involve a more complex payload and a deeper understanding of the Windows Push Notification system.

Mitigation

To secure your systems against this vulnerability, the best course of action is to apply the patch provided by the vendor as soon as possible. If immediate patching is not feasible, using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can offer temporary mitigation. These tools can be configured to detect and block attempts to exploit this vulnerability. However, these are just temporary solutions and the system would still be vulnerable until the patch is applied.
In the long term, adopting a robust patch management strategy and maintaining an up-to-date system can significantly reduce the risk posed by such vulnerabilities.