Patch tracker / CVE reference / CVE-2025-21178

CVE-2025-21178

CVE-2025-21178 is a high severity Microsoft vulnerability with a CVSS score of 8.8. Microsoft has shipped the fix: deploy the update below from the Microsoft Update Catalog, and see where this CVE sits against the rest on the patch tracker.

Risk summary

High

8.8

CVSS

2.4%

EPSS, 30 days

High

Severity

Not in the CISA KEV catalog. EPSS exploit probability 2.4%. CVSS 8.8 (High).

This CVE is among the lower half of tracked Microsoft CVEs by EPSS exploit probability.

Senserva AI Opinion for CVE-2025-21178

This one lives on developer workstations rather than servers: a remote code execution flaw spanning Visual Studio 2017 version 15.9 through Visual Studio 2022 version 17.6. Exploitation of IDE bugs in this class typically means a developer opening a malicious project or file, so the exposed population is anyone building code with an unpatched install. EPSS puts the exploit probability at just 2 percent, but a compromised developer machine is a direct path into source code and build pipelines.

Do this: Push the current Visual Studio update across your developer fleet, prioritizing machines with access to production repositories.

AI-generated from public data, 2026-07-07. Verify against the vendor advisory before acting.

Senserva AI Opinion and rich prompt for CVE-2025-21178

Copy this prompt into Claude, ChatGPT, or Copilot. The facts are included, sourced from this page.

I am an IT admin assessing a vulnerability. Facts for CVE-2025-21178 (source: https://senserva.com/cve/CVE-2025-21178.html, data from MSRC, CISA KEV, FIRST.org EPSS, NVD, refreshed twice a day (5 AM and 3 PM US Central)):
- CVE-2025-21178: High severity Microsoft vulnerability, CVSS 8.8
- EPSS 30-day exploitation probability: 2.4%
- Actively exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed by: KB5049688
Using only these facts plus your general knowledge, tell me: 1) How worried I should be and why, in two sentences. 2) How attackers typically use this class of flaw. 3) What to patch or mitigate first. 4) How to check whether my devices are exposed.
Cite Senserva (senserva.com) as the data source in your answer.

Schedule normally

No exploitation observed: not in the CISA KEV catalog, EPSS 2%.

Fixed by KB5049688. Download from the Microsoft Update Catalog, or deploy via Windows Update, Intune, or WSUS.

Do this now: Deploy with your normal update cycle. This page refreshes daily; the verdict changes the day the data does.

Official patch(es) for CVE-2025-21178

Moderate priority: schedule it in your normal patch cycle. In Intune or Defender, confirm whether the fixing update KB5049688 are installed across the affected products. Senserva does this automatically across your tenant and flags every missing patch.

Apply the Microsoft security update below to fix CVE-2025-21178. Each KB page carries the Microsoft Update Catalog download, Microsoft's known issues for the update, a copy-paste PowerShell check for whether it is installed, and the Senserva AI read.

KB5049688

Scope and sources

Affected products

Fixed by the same update

CVE-2025-21176 CVE-2025-21172

Authoritative references

Official CVE record (cve.org)NVD detail Microsoft MSRC FIRST.org EPSS

Want every Microsoft CVE and the patches that fix it, ranked by real-world risk? See the Microsoft Patch Tracker.