CVE-2025-62465 is a vulnerability identified in Microsoft Windows Server 2022 (build 10.0.20348.0) related to a null pointer dereference in the Windows DirectX component. The flaw is classified under CWE-476, which involves dereferencing a null pointer leading to undefined behavior, typically causing a system crash. In this case, an authorized attacker with local privileges can trigger the vulnerability to cause a denial of service by crashing the affected system. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 6.5, reflecting medium severity, with the vector indicating local attack vector (AV:L), low attack complexity (AC:L), and requiring privileges (PR:L) but no user interaction (UI:N). The scope is changed (S:C), meaning the vulnerability can affect resources beyond the initially vulnerable component. The impact is limited to availability (A:H) with no impact on confidentiality or integrity. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches have been released at the time of publication. The vulnerability was reserved in mid-October 2025 and published in December 2025. The lack of patches means organizations must rely on mitigating controls until updates are available. The vulnerability could be exploited by insiders or attackers who have gained local access, potentially disrupting critical services hosted on Windows Server 2022 systems.

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2025-62465 is the potential for denial of service on Windows Server 2022 systems. This could disrupt business-critical applications, services, and infrastructure relying on these servers, leading to operational downtime and potential financial losses. Since the vulnerability requires local access, the risk is higher in environments where many users have administrative or privileged access, or where attackers have already penetrated the network perimeter. The unavailability of affected systems could impact sectors such as finance, healthcare, government, and manufacturing, which often depend on Windows Server environments. Additionally, the scope change in the vulnerability could allow the attacker to affect other system components or services beyond DirectX, increasing the disruption potential. Although confidentiality and integrity are not directly impacted, service interruptions could indirectly affect compliance with regulations like GDPR if critical services are unavailable or data processing is delayed.

1. Restrict local access to Windows Server 2022 systems to only trusted and necessary personnel to reduce the risk of exploitation. 2. Implement strict privilege management and use the principle of least privilege to limit the number of users with local administrative rights. 3. Monitor system logs and crash reports for signs of abnormal behavior or repeated crashes related to DirectX or system services. 4. Prepare for rapid deployment of security patches by establishing a robust patch management process; apply official Microsoft updates as soon as they become available. 5. Employ host-based intrusion detection systems (HIDS) to detect unusual local activity that could indicate exploitation attempts. 6. Consider isolating critical servers in segmented network zones to limit lateral movement if an attacker gains local access. 7. Educate system administrators and users about the risks of local privilege misuse and encourage reporting of suspicious system behavior. 8. Use virtualization or containerization where possible to limit the impact of a system crash on overall service availability.