CVE-2025-68623Public exploit

SYSTEM escalation via temporary executable replacement

Published Mar 11, 2026 · Updated Mar 11, 2026

Privilege escalation in Microsoft DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer 9.29.1974.0 allows local users to execute code with high integrity. The elevated dxwebsetup.exe process creates dxwsetup.exe in a standard-user-writable %TEMP% subdirectory and then launches that file without preventing replacement. The attack requires a low-privilege local user to replace the file during installation; high-integrity execution enables SYSTEM escalation through service creation, although Microsoft disputes the vulnerability as behavior by design.

CVSS severity8.8
High
EPSS probability0.13%
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

Privilege escalation in Microsoft DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer 9.29.1974.0 allows local users to execute code with high integrity. The elevated dxwebsetup.exe process creates dxwsetup.exe in a standard-user-writable %TEMP% subdirectory and then launches that file without preventing replacement. The attack requires a low-privilege local user to replace the file during installation; high-integrity execution enables SYSTEM escalation through service creation, although Microsoft disputes the vulnerability as behavior by design.

The record

CVE
CVE-2025-68623
Published
Mar 11, 2026
Updated
Mar 11, 2026
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-284, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 11, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Mar 11, 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?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

8.8CISA-ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/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 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-284Improper Access Control
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

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