Microsoft Quietly Patches LNK Vulnerability Exploited Since 2017
Microsoft has quietly fixed a security vulnerability that has been exploited by multiple threat actors since 2017. The fix was included in the November 2025 Patch Tuesday updates. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2025-9491 (CVSS score: 7.8/7.0), is a “misinterpretation of the Windows shortcut file (LNK) user interface” flaw that could lead to remote code execution. Vulnerability Details (CVE-2025-9491) The vulnerability lies in how Windows handles .LNK files. The main problem is that a shortcut file can be manipulated to hide malicious commands from the user who inspects the file through the user interface. ...