CVE-2025-62465 is a null pointer dereference vulnerability classified under CWE-476 found in the DirectX component of Microsoft Windows Server 2022 (build 10.0.20348.0). This vulnerability allows an authorized attacker with low privileges on the local system to cause a denial of service by triggering a null pointer dereference, which results in a system crash or service disruption. The vulnerability does not require user interaction, but local access and some privileges are necessary to exploit it. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 6.5, indicating a medium severity level, with the vector AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C. This means the attack vector is local, with low attack complexity and low privileges required, no user interaction, and a scope change due to the system crash affecting other components. The impact is limited to availability, with no confidentiality or integrity loss. Currently, there are no known exploits in the wild, and no patches have been released, though the vulnerability has been publicly disclosed. The vulnerability could be leveraged by insiders or attackers who have gained limited local access to disrupt critical services running on Windows Server 2022, potentially impacting business continuity. The lack of remote exploitability limits the attack surface, but the vulnerability remains a concern for environments where local access cannot be tightly controlled.

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2025-62465 is the potential for denial of service on Windows Server 2022 systems, which could disrupt critical enterprise services, cloud infrastructure, and hosted applications. This could lead to operational downtime, loss of availability of business-critical applications, and potential cascading effects on dependent systems. Since the vulnerability requires local access and low privileges, the risk is higher in environments with many users having local access or where attackers can escalate privileges to a low-level user. Sectors such as finance, healthcare, government, and telecommunications, which rely heavily on Windows Server 2022 for backend services, could experience service interruptions. Although no data confidentiality or integrity is at risk, availability disruptions can cause significant financial and reputational damage. The lack of known exploits reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the threat, especially in insider threat scenarios or targeted attacks. Organizations with less mature access controls and monitoring are more vulnerable to exploitation.

1. Implement strict access controls to limit local access to Windows Server 2022 systems, ensuring only trusted administrators and service accounts have local login rights. 2. Enforce the principle of least privilege, minimizing user privileges to reduce the risk of exploitation by low-privileged users. 3. Monitor system logs and DirectX-related services for unusual crashes or service interruptions that could indicate exploitation attempts. 4. Prepare for rapid deployment of patches once Microsoft releases an official fix; subscribe to Microsoft security advisories for timely updates. 5. Use application whitelisting and endpoint protection solutions to detect and prevent unauthorized execution of code that might trigger the vulnerability. 6. Conduct regular security audits and penetration tests focusing on local privilege escalation and denial of service vectors. 7. Isolate critical Windows Server 2022 instances in segmented network zones to limit the impact of potential local attacks. 8. Educate system administrators and users about the risks of local privilege misuse and the importance of reporting unusual system behavior promptly.