The recent emergence of the "inetpub" folder in Windows 11 systems has stirred a mix of curiosity and concern among users and IT professionals alike. Introduced as part of Microsoft's April 2025 cumulative update, this seemingly innocuous, empty directory located at the root of the system drive...
cve-2025-21204
cybersecurity
defense in depth
digital rights management
directory junction
directory junction attack
filesystem security
folder permissions
folder permissions hardening
inetpub folder
it security
local privilege escalation
microsoft april update
microsoft patch
microsoft security update
microsoft update
microsoft vulnerability
operating system security
privilege escalation
protecting system files
security best practices
security hardening
security mitigation
security patch
security patch issues
security workaround
software patches
symbolic link attacks
symbolic links
symlink exploitation
symlink exploits
symlink vulnerability
sysadmin tips
system administration
system folders
system integrity
system permissions
system protection
system security
systemupdatebypassupdate integrity
user rights
windows 11
windows 11 update
windows defender
windows exploits
windows iis
windows patch
windows patch management
windows security
windows security best practices
windows system
windows system files
windows update
windows update vulnerabilities
windows vulnerabilities
windows vulnerability
Here is a summary of the original Petri article on the Windows 11 'inetpub' folder security risk:
What happened?
After the April 2025 Patch Tuesday update, a new "inetpub" folder started appearing on Windows 10 and 11 machines.
Microsoft created this folder to help patch a bug (CVE-2025-21204)...
admin tips
administrative permissions
cve-2025-21204
cyberattack prevention
cybersecurity
cybersecurity best practices
directory junction
directory junctions
endpoint protection
file system security
folder permissions
inetpub folder
insider threat
it protection
it security
junction points
local user exploit
malware exploitation
malware risk
microsoft april 2025 update
microsoft patch
microsoft security
microsoft updates
microsoft windows
operating system security
permission hardening
permissions hardening
security alerts
security mitigation
security patch
security researcher
security vulnerabilities
security vulnerability
security workaround
symbolic link exploit
symbolic links
symlink exploitation
symlink vulnerability
symlinks
sysadmin guide
sysadmin tips
system integrity
system patching
system permissions
system protection
system security
systemupdatebypasssystemupdate security
system vulnerabilities
system vulnerability
update security
windows 10
windows 11
windows defender
windows folder permissions
windows iis
windows patch
windows security
windows security patch
windows security risk
windows security update
windows servicing stack
windows system administration
windows system folder
windows system risks
windows update
windows update fix
windows update management
windows update security
windows update vulnerability
windows updates
windows vulnerabilities
windows vulnerability