# CVE-2025-7676: DLL hijacking of all PE32 executables on Windows 11 for ARM CPUs

> Attackers can execute arbitrary code by planting malicious DLLs in application directories on Windows 11 for ARM systems.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.4 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 28 Jul 2025
- **Updated:** 28 Jul 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-6wqg-vw6j-rqfv

## What is CVE-2025-7676?

CVE-2025-7676 is a medium-severity code injection vulnerability in Microsoft, Inc Windows 11, published on 28 Jul 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

DLL hijacking of all PE32 executables when run on Windows for ARM64 CPU architecture. This allows an attacker to execute code, if the attacker can plant a DLL in the same directory as the executable. Vulnerable versions of Windows 11 for ARM attempt to load Base DLLs that would ordinarily not be loaded from the application directory. Fixed in release 24H2, but present in all earlier versions of Windows 11 for ARM CPUs.

Weakness: CWE-427 (Uncontrolled Search Path Element)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-7676?


## How do I fix CVE-2025-7676?

No fix has been published for CVE-2025-7676 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2025-7676 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-7676 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-7676 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-7676 is a medium-severity code injection vulnerability in Microsoft, Inc Windows 11, published on 28 Jul 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-7676 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Microsoft, Inc Windows 11. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-7676/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-7676/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-7676
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-7676
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-7676

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-7676/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.