CVE-2025-14496VulnerabilityPublished 23 Dec 2025Updated 26 Dec 2025

CVE-2025-14496: RealDefense SUPERAntiSpyware · Exposed Dangerous Method or Function

Affects RealDefense SUPERAntiSpywareSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.8 High.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS 3.0 base score

7.8High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 10% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 23 Dec 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-26.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

AI-suggested

1. Monitor RealDefense communications closely for official patches or updates addressing CVE-2025-14496 and apply them promptly once available. 2. Restrict local user permissions rigorously to minimize the risk of low-privileged code execution on endpoints. 3. Employ application whitelisting and endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to detect and block suspicious local activities related to SAS Core Service. 4. Conduct regular audits of installed software versions across the enterprise to identify and remediate vulnerable SUPERAntiSpyware installations. 5. Implement network segmentation to limit lateral movement if a local compromise occurs. 6. Educate users on phishing and social engineering tactics to reduce initial foothold risks. 7. Use host-based firewalls and disable unnecessary services to reduce attack surface. 8. Maintain comprehensive logging and monitoring to detect privilege escalation attempts. 9. Consider alternative anti-malware solutions if patching is delayed or unsupported. 10. Prepare incident response plans specifically addressing local privilege escalation scenarios.

Description

RealDefense SUPERAntiSpyware Exposed Dangerous Function Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows local attackers to escalate privileges on affected installations of RealDefense SUPERAntiSpyware. An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the SAS Core Service. The issue results from an exposed dangerous function. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code in the context of SYSTEM. Was ZDI-CAN-27678.

Impact

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to endpoint security, especially for those relying on RealDefense SUPERAntiSpyware version 10.0.1276 Free Edition. Successful exploitation allows attackers to gain SYSTEM-level privileges, enabling full control over affected machines. This can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive data, installation of persistent malware, disruption of security services, and lateral movement within networks. Critical sectors such as finance, healthcare, and government agencies could face severe operational and reputational damage. The requirement for prior local code execution limits remote exploitation but does not eliminate risk, as attackers often chain vulnerabilities. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate threat but also means organizations should proactively mitigate. The impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability is high, potentially enabling data breaches, system manipulation, and denial of service. Organizations with inadequate endpoint protection or those using outdated software versions are particularly vulnerable.

CWE-749Exposed Dangerous Method or Function (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: LowOWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product provides an Applications Programming Interface (API) or similar interface for interaction with external actors, but the interface includes a dangerous method or function that is not properly restricted.
Architecture and Design
If you must expose a method, make sure to perform input validation on all arguments, limit access to authorized parties, and protect against all possible vulnerabilities.
Architecture and Design · Implementation · Attack Surface Reduction
Identify all exposed functionality. Explicitly list all functionality that must be exposed to some user or set of users. Identify which functionality may be: accessible to all users; restricted to a small set of privileged users; prevented from being directly accessible at all
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Third Party Javascript Management (opens in a new tab)
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V14.5.1 (opens in a new tab)
V10.1.1 (opens in a new tab)
V1.4.4 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
WebView Injection (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-25-1171/ (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 31 Dec 2025, 00:11 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-749

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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