CVE-2025-59281

Privilege escalation via improper link resolution

Published Oct 14, 2025 · Updated Feb 22, 2026

Improper link resolution in Microsoft Xbox Gaming Services before 31.105.17001.0 allows local users to elevate privileges. Gaming Services accesses a file without first resolving an attacker-controlled link, so the operation can reach an unintended resource; Microsoft has not identified the file-handling locus or link type. Exploitation requires low-privilege local access and can yield higher privileges without user interaction.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.39%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Improper link resolution in Microsoft Xbox Gaming Services before 31.105.17001.0 allows local users to elevate privileges. Gaming Services accesses a file without first resolving an attacker-controlled link, so the operation can reach an unintended resource; Microsoft has not identified the file-handling locus or link type. Exploitation requires low-privilege local access and can yield higher privileges without user interaction.

The record

CVE
CVE-2025-59281
Published
Oct 14, 2025
Updated
Feb 22, 2026
Vendor
Microsoft
Product
Xbox Gaming Services
Classifications
CWE-59, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Oct 14, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Feb 22, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=19.0.0.0 <31.105.17001.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Microsoft · Xbox Gaming Servicesversion=19.0.0.0 <31.105.17001.0

Published CVSS scores

7.8MicrosoftCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-59Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo