CVE-2025-24989 is an improper access control vulnerability classified under CWE-284 affecting Microsoft Power Pages, a low-code development platform for building business websites and portals. The flaw allows an attacker to bypass user registration controls remotely over the network without requiring authentication or user interaction, enabling privilege escalation. Specifically, the vulnerability permits unauthorized actors to elevate their privileges within the Power Pages environment, potentially gaining administrative capabilities or unauthorized access to restricted resources. The CVSS v3.1 score of 8.2 reflects a high severity due to the network attack vector (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), and no user interaction (UI:N). The impact primarily affects integrity (I:H) with limited confidentiality loss (C:L) and no availability impact (A:N). Microsoft has addressed this vulnerability by updating the service to block the registration control bypass and has notified all affected customers with guidance on reviewing their sites for exploitation and performing cleanup. No public exploits have been reported, and the vulnerability was reserved and published in early 2025. The lack of affected version specifics suggests the issue was service-wide or in a cloud-hosted environment rather than discrete software versions. This vulnerability highlights the risks of improper access control in web-facing low-code platforms that integrate with enterprise and customer data.

For European organizations, the vulnerability poses a significant risk to the integrity of their web portals and business applications built on Microsoft Power Pages. Unauthorized privilege escalation could allow attackers to modify site content, alter business logic, or access sensitive data indirectly, undermining trust and compliance with data protection regulations such as GDPR. The network-based exploitation without authentication increases the attack surface, especially for organizations exposing Power Pages portals to the internet. Potential impacts include unauthorized data manipulation, disruption of business processes, and reputational damage. Given the widespread adoption of Microsoft cloud services in Europe, especially in public sector digital transformation projects and private enterprises, the vulnerability could affect critical infrastructure and services. Although no known exploits exist yet, the high severity and ease of exploitation necessitate prompt action to prevent potential breaches and ensure regulatory compliance.

European organizations should immediately verify that their Microsoft Power Pages environments have received the service update that mitigates this vulnerability. They should follow Microsoft’s guidance to review site registration controls and audit logs for any signs of unauthorized access or privilege escalation attempts. Implementing strict monitoring and alerting on privilege changes within Power Pages is critical. Organizations should also conduct thorough cleanup of any potentially compromised accounts or configurations as per Microsoft’s instructions. Network-level protections such as web application firewalls (WAFs) can be tuned to detect and block anomalous registration or privilege escalation attempts. Additionally, organizations should enforce strong identity and access management (IAM) policies, including multi-factor authentication (MFA) for administrative access to Power Pages portals. Regular security assessments and penetration testing focused on low-code platforms can help identify residual risks. Finally, maintaining up-to-date incident response plans that include cloud service vulnerabilities will improve readiness against exploitation attempts.