Brinztech Alert: Exploit for Critical IIS Web Deploy RCE Vulnerability (CVE-2025-53772) is Shared

Dark Web News Analysis

A proof-of-concept (PoC) exploit for a critical Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2025-53772, has been publicly shared on a hacker forum. The vulnerability affects Microsoft’s Web Deploy (msdeploy) tool, a common component used with Internet Information Services (IIS) web servers. According to the analysis, the exploit leverages an insecure deserialization flaw that can be triggered by sending a specially crafted HTTP request to the /msdeploy.axd endpoint, leading to a full system compromise.

The public release of a functional PoC exploit for a critical RCE vulnerability is a major security event. It dramatically lowers the barrier to entry, allowing even less-skilled attackers to weaponize the flaw and launch widespread attacks. This creates an urgent “patch-or-perish” situation for any organization that runs a Microsoft IIS web server with the Web Deploy feature enabled, as they are now at high risk of being compromised.

Key Cybersecurity Insights

The sharing of this exploit presents a critical and immediate threat to web infrastructure:

• High-Severity RCE Enables Full Server Takeover: The primary risk is that CVE-2025-53772 is a Remote Code Execution vulnerability. A successful exploit allows an unauthenticated, remote attacker to gain complete control of the targeted web server. This enables them to steal sensitive data, install ransomware, deface the website, or use the server as a pivot point to attack the internal network.
• Public Exploit Guarantees Widespread Attacks: The availability of a working PoC exploit “productizes” the vulnerability. It means a massive wave of automated scanning and exploitation attempts is imminent, as a wide range of threat actors will now add this exploit to their toolkits.
• Directly Exposed and Easily Discoverable Attack Surface: The attack targets the /msdeploy.axd endpoint, which is often publicly exposed on servers with Web Deploy enabled. This provides a large and easily discoverable attack surface for criminals to scan for and attack on a mass scale.

Mitigation Strategies

In response to this critical threat, all organizations running Microsoft IIS servers must take immediate action:

• Patch Immediately: The most critical mitigation is to apply the security update released by Microsoft that addresses CVE-2025-53772. This should be treated as an emergency, high-priority patch and deployed across all vulnerable IIS servers without delay.
• Disable Web Deploy if Not in Use: Many servers have Web Deploy enabled but do not actively use it. If the feature is not essential for business operations, it should be disabled or uninstalled completely. This is the most effective way to eliminate the attack surface and remove the risk.
• Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF): A properly configured WAF can provide a critical “virtual patch.” Security teams should immediately deploy or update WAF rules to inspect for and block any malicious HTTP requests targeting the /msdeploy.axd endpoint or containing suspicious headers, protecting the server even before it can be patched.

Secure Your Organization with Brinztech As a cybersecurity provider, we can protect your business from the threats discussed here. Contact us to learn more about our services.

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