Patch Tuesday (2025-01)

Summary of January 2025 Security Updates

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Microsoft released 165 CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) in January 2025, addressing vulnerabilities across a wide range of products and services. Below is a summary and key metrics derived from the release notes:

Key Metrics

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1. Total CVEs: 165
2. CVSS Score Distribution:
   • Critical (9.0-10.0): 6 CVEs
   • High (7.0-8.9): 103 CVEs
   • Medium (4.0-6.9): 54 CVEs
   • Low (0.1-3.9): 2 CVEs
3. Exploitation Likelihood:
   • Exploitation Less Likely: 143 CVEs
   • Exploitation More Likely: 18 CVEs
   • Exploitation Detected: 4 CVEs
4. Mitigations Available:
   • Yes: 4 CVEs (e.g., CVE-2025-21298, CVE-2025-21311)
   • No: 161 CVEs
5. Workarounds Available:
   • Yes: 1 CVE (CVE-2025-21298)
   • No: 164 CVEs
6. FAQs Available:
   • Yes: 163 CVEs
   • No: 2 CVEs

Top Vulnerabilities by CVSS Score

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1. CVE-2025-21298 (CVSS 9.8):

   • Product: Windows OLE
   • Description: A critical vulnerability allowing remote code execution with no authentication required.
   • Workarounds: Yes
   • Exploitation: More Likely

2. CVE-2025-21311 (CVSS 9.8):

   • Product: Windows NTLM
   • Description: A critical vulnerability allowing remote code execution with no authentication required.
   • Mitigations: Yes
   • Exploitation: Less Likely

3. CVE-2025-21415 (CVSS 9.9):

   • Product: Azure AI Face Service
   • Description: A critical vulnerability with high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
   • Exploitation: N/A

Product Breakdown

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• Windows Telephony Service: 18 CVEs (e.g., CVE-2025-21223, CVE-2025-21233)
• Windows Digital Media: 16 CVEs (e.g., CVE-2025-21226, CVE-2025-21249)
• Windows Message Queuing: 10 CVEs (e.g., CVE-2025-21220, CVE-2025-21251)
• Microsoft Office: 12 CVEs (e.g., CVE-2025-21346, CVE-2025-21365)
• Windows Remote Desktop Services: 8 CVEs (e.g., CVE-2025-21225, CVE-2025-21309)
• Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based): 18 CVEs (non-Microsoft CVEs republished, e.g., CVE-2025-0291, CVE-2025-0448)

Additional Notes

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• Non-Microsoft CVEs: 18 CVEs related to Chromium-based Microsoft Edge and other products were republished.
• Exploitation Detected: 4 CVEs have active exploitation detected, requiring immediate attention (e.g., CVE-2025-21333, CVE-2025-21334).
• Mitigations and Workarounds: Only a few CVEs have mitigations or workarounds available, emphasizing the need for prompt patching.

Recommendations

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1. Prioritize Patching: Focus on critical and high-severity vulnerabilities, especially those with exploitation detected or more likely (e.g., CVE-2025-21298, CVE-2025-21311).
2. Apply Mitigations: For CVEs with available mitigations (e.g., CVE-2025-21298, CVE-2025-21311), implement them immediately.
3. Monitor Updates: Regularly check for updates and known issues, especially for Windows Telephony Service and Microsoft Office products.

This summary provides a high-level overview of the January 2025 security updates.