Tag: cwe-285

Overview

On May 8, 2025, Microsoft disclosed a critical vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-29827 in Azure Automation, a cloud-based service that allows users to automate management tasks across Azure and non-Azure environments. The issue is categorized as an Elevation of Privilege (EoP) vulnerability resulting from Improper Authorization, tracked under CWE-285.

Technical Details

The vulnerability stems from improper authorization mechanisms within Azure Automation. An attacker who already has limited access to the service could potentially exploit this flaw to escalate privileges over the network. According to the CVSS v3.1 scoring, the vulnerability received a critical base score of 9.9, indicating a severe risk due to its:

• Attack Vector (AV): Network
• Attack Complexity (AC): Low
• Privileges Required (PR): Low
• User Interaction (UI): None
• Scope (S): Changed
• Confidentiality (C): High
• Integrity (I): High
• Availability (A): Low

The vulnerability is exploitable under certain conditions, but its impact could be total if leveraged successfully.

Understanding CWE-285: Improper Authorization

CWE-285 refers to a class of vulnerabilities where the software fails to perform proper checks before granting access to protected resources. In this case, Azure Automation incorrectly validates the identity or role of the requestor, enabling privilege escalation even for lower-tier users.

Impacted Software

The affected product is:

• Microsoft Azure Automation — all versions listed as “N/A” are impacted

The issue affects unknown platforms, and Microsoft has marked the service as vulnerable without disclosing specific versions. Users and administrators of Azure Automation should consult the official advisory and ensure that patches or mitigation steps are applied immediately.

Mitigation and Recommendations

Microsoft has released guidance and updates addressing CVE-2025-29827. Customers are urged to:

• Apply all relevant security updates from the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC).
• Review and audit Automation account permissions and role assignments.
• Limit the use of automation credentials and restrict access to automation runbooks.

Organizations leveraging Azure Automation in production or sensitive environments should prioritize remediation and continue to monitor Microsoft security advisories for further developments.

Conclusion

CVE-2025-29827 serves as a critical reminder of the risks associated with cloud automation tools and the importance of enforcing strict access controls. While the vulnerability requires low privileges to exploit, its potential for damage is high due to inadequate authorization validation. Admins must act quickly to mitigate the risk and ensure the security of automated workflows in Azure.

Overview

On April 30, 2025, Microsoft published details about a critical security vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-30390 in Azure Machine Learning (Azure ML). This vulnerability allows an authorized attacker to escalate privileges over a network, potentially compromising entire machine learning workloads hosted in Azure.

Technical Details

This vulnerability is categorized under CWE-285: Improper Authorization. The flaw lies in the insufficient enforcement of authorization checks in Azure ML’s compute environments. A user with limited privileges can exploit the weakness to gain elevated access and potentially perform administrative-level actions.

The vulnerability is rated CRITICAL with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.9. The CVSS vector string is:

• CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C

This score reflects the fact that the attack is:

• Network-accessible (AV:N)
• Requires low attack complexity (AC:L)
• Needs only low privileges (PR:L)
• Requires no user interaction (UI:N)
• Has a high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:H/I:H/A:H)

Impacted Systems

All versions of Azure Machine Learning compute environments are potentially affected. The vulnerability is relevant to cloud-hosted scenarios and may not directly impact on-premises solutions, as noted by the tag exclusively-hosted-service.

Mitigation and Response

Microsoft has published a security advisory and recommended actions. Although no public exploit is known at the time of publication, organizations using Azure ML are strongly urged to review Microsoft’s guidance:

MSRC Advisory on CVE-2025-30390

The advisory indicates that the vulnerability is not currently exploited in the wild, and exploitation is considered unlikely. However, due to the high impact, it remains a priority for remediation.

Understanding the Risk

This CVE demonstrates the risks of insufficient access control mechanisms in cloud-based machine learning platforms. In scenarios where compute resources are shared among users or teams, improper isolation and authorization logic can allow lateral movement or privilege abuse, violating the principle of least privilege (PoLP).

The SSVC (Stakeholder-Specific Vulnerability Categorization) model applied by CISA further reinforces the urgency, classifying the technical impact as total and recommending swift coordination despite no current exploitation.

Conclusion

CVE-2025-30390 is a high-priority vulnerability for any organization leveraging Azure ML. The combination of low complexity and high impact makes it critical to address, even in the absence of known exploitation. Security teams should monitor vendor advisories closely and apply any available patches or mitigations.

Overview

CVE-2025-30392 is a critical security vulnerability identified in the Microsoft Azure AI Bot Service. The flaw, publicly disclosed on April 30, 2025, is classified as an Improper Authorization issue (CWE-285), enabling unauthorized attackers to elevate their privileges remotely over a network.

Understanding Improper Authorization

CWE-285: Improper Authorization describes a condition where an application does not adequately enforce access controls. This flaw allows attackers to perform actions that should require higher privileges, bypassing security boundaries put in place by developers or administrators.

In the case of Azure AI Bot Service, this vulnerability means that unauthenticated users could potentially gain access to privileged functions, compromising confidentiality, integrity, and availability of affected systems.

Technical Details

The vulnerability carries a CVSS v3.1 score of 9.8 (Critical) with the following vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. This scoring indicates:

• Attack Vector: Network
• Attack Complexity: Low
• Privileges Required: None
• User Interaction: None
• Scope: Unchanged
• Impact: High for Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability

No authentication or user interaction is needed to exploit this vulnerability, making it highly dangerous for cloud-based services like Azure bots.

SSVC and Exploitation Risk

According to the Stakeholder-Specific Vulnerability Categorization (SSVC) by CISA:

• Exploitation: Not observed in the wild
• Automatable: Yes
• Technical Impact: Total

This analysis highlights that, while no exploitation has yet been detected, the ease of automation and severity of impact necessitate urgent attention.

Mitigation Recommendations

Organizations leveraging the Azure AI Bot Service should take the following steps:

• Apply any security patches or configuration changes provided by Microsoft immediately
• Review bot permissions and API access controls
• Audit logs for unusual privilege changes or unauthorized access

References

• Microsoft Security Advisory: CVE-2025-30392

This vulnerability is a reminder of the risks associated with cloud-native services and the importance of rigorous access control validation.