Microsoft July 2025 Patch Tuesday Review: 130 CVEs Without Zero-Day Exploits

Microsoft’s July Patch Tuesday 2025 brings a significant security update, marking one of the most substantial patch releases of recent months with remedies for 130 distinct vulnerabilities spread across its product portfolio. While the sheer number of CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) draws attention, the absence of high-profile zero-day flaws offers a degree of relief for system administrators juggling the ever-present balance of urgency versus methodical change management. That said, a closer look reveals notable priorities and strategic implications for enterprise IT, development teams, and users within regulated or high-security environments.

A Closer Inspection: 130 New CVEs, No Zero-Day Panic​

Microsoft’s cadence of monthly cumulative updates has, over recent years, become a foundational security ritual for organizations of all sizes. Still, the July rollout—encompassing 130 new vulnerabilities—stands out both for its volume and the breadth of affected products. Breaking down these figures:

• 14 vulnerabilities are rated critical,
• 115 are considered important,
• 1 holds a moderate severity rating.

Products affected include the Windows operating system family, Azure cloud platform, Microsoft Office suite, Hyper-V virtualization, Visual Studio, and an assortment of underlying libraries. Notably, Microsoft chose to republish corrections for seven previously acknowledged CVEs and provided patches for ten vulnerabilities in non-Microsoft products, underscoring the ecosystem-level complexity facing modern organizations.
Crucially, this Patch Tuesday did not involve any active zero-day exploits, meaning there were no vulnerabilities publicly known to be under attack prior to their remediation. The implication for administrators is a brief respite from drop-everything emergency response, and a renewed focus on disciplined patch management processes.

Windows Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS): A Concentrated Threat Venue​

Among the areas demanding immediate scrutiny are the vulnerabilities related to Windows Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS). RRAS, a longstanding feature of Windows Server, is responsible for routing network traffic and facilitating secure remote connections—capabilities critical to organizations with distributed, hybrid, or work-from-anywhere models.
This update round includes 16 CVEs tied to RRAS, all earning a maximum severity rating of ‘important’. Detailed analysis indicates:

• The bulk of vulnerabilities allow for remote code execution.
• Two CVEs pertain to information disclosure risks.
• Each vulnerability is exploitable remotely, without authentication, via the network.

Chris Goettl, VP of product management for security at Ivanti, highlights the underlying risk: “The vulnerabilities are all remotely exploitable without the need for authentication over the network.” While Microsoft assesses the likelihood of exploitation as ‘unlikely’, the security community has learned not to bank on statistical reassurances. The sheer number of issues and their remote exploit nature emphasize the importance of sound network hygiene.
Goettl recommends the following RRAS-specific mitigations:

• Restrict RRAS ports to communicate only with trusted networks or VPN concentrators.
• Apply strict firewall rules to RRAS ports, curbing unwanted traffic.
• Disable unused RRAS features or, when possible, eliminate RRAS entirely.

The lesson is clear: even when vendors rate the chance of imminent weaponization as low, remotely exploitable vulnerabilities on network-edge infrastructure demand close, proactive management.

Microsoft Office: Multiple Attack Surfaces, High-Risk CVEs​

The Microsoft Office suite—a mainstay in enterprise and SMB environments—features 16 new CVEs this release, with nearly half categorized as critical:

• 6 vulnerabilities affect the Office core,
• 2 target Excel,
• 1 resides in PowerPoint,
• 3 are in SharePoint,
• 3 touch Microsoft Word,
• 1 involves the Office Developer Platform.

Interactive environments and collaborative tools within Office have historically presented complex attack surfaces, and July’s highlight CVEs deserve special attention both for their potential impact and vectors of attack:

• CVE-2025-49695 – Microsoft Office remote code execution, CVSS 8.4, critical
• CVE-2025-49696 – Microsoft Office remote code execution, CVSS 8.4, critical
• CVE-2025-49701 – Microsoft Office SharePoint remote code execution, CVSS 8.8, important
• CVE-2025-49704 – Microsoft Office SharePoint remote code execution, CVSS 8.8, critical

Two of these, CVE-2025-49695 and CVE-2025-49696, can be exploited via the Office preview pane—meaning a user does not have to actively open a malicious document; merely previewing it could trigger the vulnerability. This vector has become increasingly popular among attackers as organizations have hardened macros and other embedded code pathways.
SharePoint, a core collaborative platform, is particularly notable in regulated industries, and past incidents have shown the catastrophic consequences of delayed patching in cloud and hybrid environments.

Patch Prioritization Guidance​

Security practitioners and IT teams should adjust their patching workflows to address Office vulnerabilities immediately, especially in organizations with a large user base or those relying on SharePoint for business-critical workflows. The remote code execution vulnerabilities, particularly via common user actions like previewing files, mean broad user bases can be at risk even from untargeted phishing or watering-hole campaigns.

Visual Studio and the Supply Chain Security Imperative​

For development teams, the July Patch Tuesday brings fresh urgency to a persistent challenge: securing the software supply chain. Seven vulnerabilities related to Git integration and third-party library usage in Visual Studio are addressed this cycle:

• CVE-2025-27613
• CVE-2025-27614
• CVE-2025-46334
• CVE-2025-46835
• CVE-2025-48384
• CVE-2025-48385
• CVE-2025-48386

Each carries implications for code security, CI/CD pipeline integrity, and the broader software development lifecycle. As Chris Goettl notes, “Most development organizations, if they're doing a good CI/CD pipeline assessment, are going to see vulnerabilities in the third-party libraries and development tools they're using.” This reflects both the maturity of organizational DevSecOps practices and the growing regulatory and customer scrutiny on software provenance.

Practical Steps: Development Patch Management​

• Regularly update Visual Studio and its libraries to the latest versions, as lag puts the entire development cycle at risk.
• For organizations with strong automated testing—especially those leveraging continuous integration (CI) and continuous delivery (CD)—prompt validation of new patches is achievable via regression checks.
• Larger organizations may favor staged rollouts, targeting lower-risk environments before updating production, minimizing business disruption from unforeseen incompatibilities.

Goettl points out: “It’s quite a bit different than just an automated patch management process of OS updates and third-party updates when you’re dealing with the development side. There’s a bit more of a heavy lift to validate that everything is good.” This challenge is magnified for firms with extensive in-house or customer-facing development efforts, given the complexity and interdependencies involved.

SQL Server: A (Publicly) Disclosed Concern​

One particular point in July’s release is the public disclosure of a SQL Server vulnerability—CVE-2025-49719. The disclosure nature of this CVE means details have been made available outside of the usual security advisory circuit, offering potential attackers a head start in developing exploit code. While the vulnerability is not being actively exploited as of the Patch Tuesday disclosure, such public knowledge heightens urgency. Database administrators and anyone operating SQL Server instances should prioritize this update to limit the window of exposure.

Broader Security Context: Third-Party Libraries, Ecosystem Risks, and Republished Fixes​

The modern attack surface extends far beyond a single vendor’s products. Microsoft’s inclusion of patches for ten non-Microsoft product flaws—especially involving libraries heavily used in environments like Visual Studio—reflects an increasingly ecosystem-focused security model. Attackers have repeatedly demonstrated an ability to exploit the “weakest link,” leveraging open-source or third-party code to undermine even well-defended organizations.
Additionally, the decision to republish seven existing CVEs hints at either prior incomplete fixes or newly uncovered exploit vectors. For patch management teams, this is a direct reminder to:

• Re-review and confirm application of previously released patches.
• Ensure up-to-date compliance auditing on all necessary systems, especially where endpoint diversity or BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policies complicate the patching matrix.

Risk Landscape: Reading Between the Lines​

While the absence of zero-days might suggest reduced immediate risk, the reality remains nuanced. The following dynamics remain in play, sometimes beneath the headlines:

• Remote code execution (RCE) flaws remain top-tier risks. Even with exploitability marked as ‘unlikely’, the best offense remains rapid mitigation—vulnerability research is a race against would-be attackers.
• Publicly disclosed vulnerabilities invite opportunistic attacks. Organizational inertia in applying patches can translate to material breaches.
• Complex, multi-layer software stacks mean dependencies are rarely obvious. A patch missed due to an unknown software relationship can undo the value of broader diligence.

Strengths: Microsoft’s Patch Tuesday as a Security Cornerstone​

Despite the overwhelming feeling that can accompany a triple-digit CVE release, Microsoft’s Patch Tuesday model continues to set the gold standard for coordinated vulnerability disclosure. Organizations can plan ahead using pre-release advisories and standardized documentation; automation frameworks such as Windows Update for Business, WSUS, and Intune streamline the deployment at scale.
Further strengths include:

• Swift coordination with third-party vulnerability reporters, helping minimize the public exposure window.
• Unambiguous CVE documentation enhancing the ability for admins to triage by severity and impact.
• Clear mitigations and workaround guidance, particularly for high-risk categories like RRAS and Office preview pane exploitation.

Potential Weaknesses and Risks: Volume, Complexity, and Human Factors​

No system is without fault, and Microsoft’s massive platform reach exacerbates certain risks:

• Patch fatigue: Organizations may prioritize headline zero-days and delay less sensational, but still significant, flaws. Cumulative vulnerabilities, if left unaddressed, can result in wide-scale compromise.
• Ecosystem blind spots: Smaller organizations, in particular, may lack the insight to identify third-party library use and patch accordingly. Developers using Visual Studio or integrating external packages must remain vigilant.
• Testing bottlenecks: Especially in development environments, thorough regression testing and staged deployment can introduce significant lag between patch release and widespread application—potentially leaving organizations vulnerable to short-notice exploit weaponization.
• Procedural lag: The republishing of previously “fixed” CVEs illustrates the challenge of chasing a constantly evolving threat landscape. IT teams must regularly audit existing patch levels and not assume that recently patched means fully secure.

Practical Guidance for IT Pros and Businesses​

To manage the scope of July’s Patch Tuesday, organizations should:

• Automate patch deployment wherever possible, prioritizing critical and likely to be exploited flaws.
• Focus on high-value assets and entry points: Office suite (especially preview and SharePoint paths), RRAS endpoints, and SQL Server instances.
• Limit network attack surface via firewalls, segmentation, and service removal—especially unused RRAS and similar components.
• Maintain robust inventory and software bill-of-materials (SBOM) practices to identify all libraries and dependencies requiring updates.
• Facilitate user awareness education, especially regarding the dangers of previewing files from untrusted sources.

The Industry’s Next Steps: Prevention, Collaboration, and Transparency​

Patch Tuesday is both a stopgap and proving ground—one that highlights how integrated vendor disclosure processes are just the starting point for systemic resilience. Key next steps for the broader community include:

• Continued investment in coordinated vulnerability disclosure—with Microsoft’s willingness to patch even non-Microsoft products setting a healthy precedent.
• Ecosystem-wide threat modeling: Organizations must plan for not just their own assets but also the tools and dependencies they integrate, including third-party libraries, plug-ins, and development pipelines.
• Community collaboration: Sharing patch success stories, regression pain points, and novel exploit vectors ensures the collective intelligence outpaces attackers.

Conclusion: A Marathon, Not a Sprint​

Microsoft's July Patch Tuesday demonstrates both the scale and intricacy of modern software security. While the month’s absence of zero-days tempers the sense of urgency, the high volume of vulnerabilities—dispersed across Windows, Office, RRAS, Visual Studio, SQL Server, and supporting libraries—demands disciplined, prioritized action.
Enterprises and SMBs alike should approach large-scale updates not with panic, but with professionalism and process—taking full advantage of automation, robust internal communication, and the ample documentation provided by both Microsoft and the broader information security community. The battle to secure modern IT infrastructure is ongoing, but with diligence, collaboration, and continued investment in best practices, organizations can weather the monthly storm and ensure their systems—and users—remain resilient in the face of evolving threats.

---

Source: TechTarget Microsoft targets 130 vulnerabilities on July Patch Tuesday | TechTarget