Contents

Your Windows Kernel Has a Race Condition Being Exploited Right Now

 

Want to learn ethical hacking? I built a complete course. Have a look!
Learn penetration testing, web exploitation, network security, and the hacker mindset:
→ Master ethical hacking hands-on
(The link supports me directly as your instructor!)
Hacking is not a hobby but a way of life!

 
Contents

Your Windows Kernel has a race condition. You’ve probably never thought about race conditions. (Most people haven’t. But stick with me…) It’s there in EVERY Windows version currently supported. And it’s being actively exploited right now. ⚡🎯

CVE-2025-62215. CVSS score 7.0. Confirmed exploitation in the wild.

Here’s what that actually means:

When multiple processes try to access the same kernel resource at the exact same time, there’s a tiny window where things can go wrong. An attacker who already has access to your system can exploit that split-second timing gap to escalate privileges.

→ They trigger the vulnerable kernel code with multiple threads → Win the race condition timing window
→ Manipulate kernel resources during that gap → Boom. SYSTEM privileges.

SYSTEM = the highest privilege level on Windows. Complete control. Game over.

Microsoft’s own security team (MSTIC & MSRC) discovered this being exploited in the wild. They haven’t disclosed attack details, but the fact it’s actively used tells you everything.

→ Windows 10 (including ESU Extended Security Updates) → Windows 11 (all versions) → Windows Server 2022 → Windows Server 2025

All currently supported Windows versions. Servers, domain controllers, workstations. Everything.

The patch was released November 11, 2025:

Windows 11 (25H2/24H2): KB5068861 Windows 11 (23H2): KB5068865 Windows 10 (ESU): KB5068781

Check if you’re patched:

Press Windows + I → Windows Update → Check for updates

Or check your Windows version number.

This is how privilege escalation works. Attackers go from “I’m in as a regular user” to “I own everything.” You break in with limited access. You exploit CVE-2025-62215. Now you’re SYSTEM.

From there:

→ Disable endpoint protection → Harvest credentials (including admin passwords) → Install persistence mechanisms → Move laterally through the network

This is the 11th Windows Kernel elevation of privilege vulnerability patched in 2025. Five of them came in October’s Patch Tuesday alone.

Old legacy code keeps breaking. Attackers keep finding it. We keep patching.

Pro tip: Race conditions are historically harder to exploit reliably than simple buffer overflows. But once Microsoft releases a patch, skilled exploit developers reverse-engineer the fix to build working proof-of-concepts. The window to patch before weaponization is small.

Want to understand privilege escalation and Windows exploitation?

I cover Windows privilege escalation techniques, Metasploit exploitation, and credential dumping with Mimikatz in my complete course:

Join my complete ethical hacking course

(The link supports me directly as your instructor!)

This vulnerability existed in Windows Kernel code until someone found it being exploited. How many more kernel race conditions are sitting there right now, undiscovered?

That’s why ethical hackers exist. We find these problems before criminals weaponize them at scale.

Patch your systems. Now.

Hacking is not a hobby but a way of life. 🎯

 

By Bulls Eye

Jolanda de koff • emaildonate

My name is Jolanda de Koff and on the internet, I'm also known as Bulls Eye. Ethical Hacker, Penetration tester, Researcher, Programmer, Self Learner, and forever n00b. Not necessarily in that order. Like to make my own hacking tools and I sometimes share them with you. "You can create art & beauty with a computer and Hacking is not a hobby but a way of life ...

I ♥ open-source and Linux