← Vulnerability feed

Vulnerability record · CVE-2025-12838 · published 23 December 2025

CVE-2025-12838: Link following vulnerability

MSP360 Free Backup Link Following Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows local attackers to escalate privileges on affected installations of MSP360 Free Backup. An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability. User interaction on the part of an administrator is needed additionally. The specific flaw exists within the restore functionality. By creating a junction, an attacker can abuse the service to create arbitrary files. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code in the context of SYSTEM. Was ZDI-CAN-27245.

7.3 CVSS 3.0 High EPSS 0.18% · top 93.3% CWE-59 · Link following Deferred
7.3CVSS 3.0 base score
0.18%EPSS exploitation probability, 30 days
NoNot in CISA KEV
0Affected product versions listed by NVD
1References
17 Jun 2026Last modified by NVD

Description

MSP360 Free Backup Link Following Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows local attackers to escalate privileges on affected installations of MSP360 Free Backup. An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability. User interaction on the part of an administrator is needed additionally. The specific flaw exists within the restore functionality. By creating a junction, an attacker can abuse the service to create arbitrary files. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code in the context of SYSTEM. Was ZDI-CAN-27245.

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

References

LinkTags
https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-25-988/

Track CVE-2025-12838 inside VULONE

Watch it alongside the ransomware crews, C2 infrastructure and forum chatter that reference it, query it through the API and pull it into your SIEM over TAXII.

Start free Open in platform

Related vulnerabilities

Same products first, then exploited flaws of the same weakness class.

7.8CVE-2026-81963Windows Update Stack link-following privilege escalationWindows Update Stack resolves links improperly before accessing files, a link-following flaw (CWE-59) compounded by improper access control (CWE-284)…KEVEPSS 0.39%analysed7.8CVE-2015-5287ABRT abrt-hook-ccpp symlink privilege escalationThe abrt-hook-ccpp helper in Red Hat's Automatic Bug Reporting Tool (ABRT) before 2.7.1 follows symlinks on files with predictable names, letting a l…KEVEPSS 5.0%analysed7.8CVE-2026-41091Microsoft Defender link following allows local privilege elevationMicrosoft Defender's malware protection engine resolves links improperly before accessing files, a link-following flaw (CWE-59). A local attacker wit…KEVEPSS 0.44%analysed7.2CVE-2024-57728SimpleHelp zip slip path traversal allows arbitrary file write and code executionSimpleHelp remote support software v5.5.7 and earlier lets admin users upload a crafted zip file that writes files anywhere on the file system via zi…KEVEPSS 65%analysed7.8CVE-2025-60710Windows Task Host link following privilege escalationThe Host Process for Windows Tasks resolves links improperly before accessing files (CWE-59), letting a local attacker redirect file operations to at…KEVEPSS 4.6%analysed8.0CVE-2025-48384Git config CRLF handling allows submodule path link-following code executionGit mishandles trailing carriage returns when writing config values, so a submodule path ending in CR is read back altered during submodule initializ…KEVEPSS 4.1%analysed7.1CVE-2025-21391Microsoft Windows Storage Elevation of Privilege via Link FollowingCVE-2025-21391 is a link-following flaw in the Windows Storage component that lets a local user escalate privileges. It affects a broad set of Window…KEVEPSS 2.3%analysed7.0CVE-2024-38106Windows Kernel elevation of privilege via race conditionCVE-2024-38106 is a Windows Kernel elevation of privilege vulnerability affecting a broad set of Windows 10, Windows 11 and Windows Server releases. …KEVEPSS 6.3%analysed

Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database (record CVE-2025-12838), CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS (scores of 2026-09-27). This page is refreshed as NVD updates the record.