CVE-2025-29792 is a high-severity use-after-free vulnerability identified in Microsoft Office 2019, specifically version 19.0.0. This vulnerability is classified under CWE-416, which pertains to use-after-free errors where a program continues to use memory after it has been freed, potentially leading to memory corruption. In this case, the flaw allows an authorized local attacker to elevate their privileges on the affected system. The vulnerability requires local access with some privileges (PR:L) and user interaction (UI:R), meaning the attacker must have an existing user account and trick the user into performing some action. The attack vector is local (AV:L), indicating that remote exploitation is not feasible without prior access. The vulnerability impacts confidentiality, integrity, and availability (all rated high), meaning successful exploitation could allow an attacker to gain higher privileges, potentially leading to full system compromise or unauthorized access to sensitive information. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 7.3, reflecting a high severity. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches have been linked yet, suggesting that organizations should prioritize monitoring and prepare for patch deployment once available. The vulnerability is significant because Microsoft Office is widely used in enterprise environments, and privilege escalation vulnerabilities can be leveraged to bypass security controls and gain administrative access.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a substantial risk due to the widespread use of Microsoft Office 2019 across various sectors including government, finance, healthcare, and critical infrastructure. An attacker exploiting this flaw could escalate privileges from a standard user to an administrator, enabling them to install malware, access sensitive data, or disrupt operations. This is particularly concerning in environments with shared workstations or where users have limited privileges but access to sensitive information. The requirement for local access and user interaction somewhat limits the attack surface but does not eliminate risk, especially in cases of insider threats or social engineering attacks. The potential impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability could lead to data breaches, regulatory non-compliance (e.g., GDPR), financial losses, and reputational damage. Organizations with stringent security policies and endpoint protection may mitigate some risk, but the vulnerability underscores the need for rapid patch management and user awareness training.

European organizations should implement the following specific mitigations: 1) Enforce the principle of least privilege by ensuring users operate with minimal necessary permissions to reduce the impact of privilege escalation. 2) Deploy application whitelisting and endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to monitor and block suspicious activities related to memory corruption exploits. 3) Increase user awareness training focusing on social engineering tactics that could trigger the required user interaction for exploitation. 4) Monitor local system logs and security events for unusual privilege escalations or process anomalies. 5) Prepare for rapid deployment of official patches from Microsoft once released by establishing a prioritized patch management process for critical applications like Office. 6) Consider implementing application sandboxing or virtualization to isolate Office processes and limit the scope of potential exploitation. 7) Restrict local administrative rights and use multi-factor authentication for sensitive accounts to reduce the risk of lateral movement post-exploitation.