CVE-2025-49737 is a high-severity vulnerability identified in Microsoft Teams for Mac, specifically version 1.0.0.0. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-362, which pertains to race conditions caused by concurrent execution using shared resources with improper synchronization. In this context, the flaw allows an authorized local attacker to exploit a race condition within the Teams application, potentially leading to privilege escalation. This means that a user with limited privileges on the affected Mac system could leverage this vulnerability to gain higher-level permissions, thereby compromising the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the system. The vulnerability arises due to improper handling of concurrent processes or threads accessing shared resources without adequate synchronization mechanisms, which can cause unexpected behavior or state corruption. The CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.0 reflects a high severity level, with the vector indicating that the attack requires local access (AV:L), high attack complexity (AC:H), low privileges (PR:L), no user interaction (UI:N), and impacts confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:H/I:H/A:H). No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches have been linked yet, indicating that mitigation may rely on vendor updates once available. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because Microsoft Teams is widely used for communication and collaboration, and a local privilege escalation could allow attackers to bypass security controls, install persistent malware, or access sensitive corporate data on Mac endpoints.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-49737 could be significant, especially in sectors relying heavily on Microsoft Teams for Mac as a primary collaboration tool. Privilege escalation vulnerabilities can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive information, disruption of business operations, and potential lateral movement within corporate networks. Given the high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact, attackers exploiting this flaw could compromise user data, manipulate communications, or disrupt service availability. This is particularly critical for organizations in regulated industries such as finance, healthcare, and government, where data protection and operational continuity are paramount. Additionally, since the vulnerability requires local access, insider threats or attackers who have already gained limited access to endpoints could leverage this flaw to deepen their foothold. The lack of a patch at the time of disclosure increases the risk window, necessitating immediate attention to detection and mitigation strategies. The reliance on Mac devices in European enterprises, especially in creative, tech, and professional services sectors, further elevates the potential impact.

To mitigate CVE-2025-49737 effectively, European organizations should implement a multi-layered approach: 1) Restrict local access to Mac endpoints running Microsoft Teams by enforcing strict access controls and endpoint security policies to minimize the risk of unauthorized local users. 2) Monitor for unusual privilege escalation attempts or anomalous behavior on Mac devices using endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools capable of identifying race condition exploitation patterns. 3) Apply principle of least privilege (PoLP) rigorously to limit user permissions and reduce the potential impact of successful exploitation. 4) Maintain up-to-date backups and implement robust incident response plans to quickly recover from potential compromises. 5) Stay alert for official patches or updates from Microsoft and prioritize their deployment as soon as they become available. 6) Consider temporarily restricting or auditing the use of Microsoft Teams for Mac in high-risk environments until a patch is released. 7) Educate users and administrators about the risks of local privilege escalation and the importance of reporting suspicious activity promptly.