Detect Microsoft Windows Link Following Vulnerability (CVE-2025-60710) in Splunk
CVE-2025-60710 is an actively exploited Microsoft Windows link following vulnerability (CWE-59) that allows an attacker to abuse symbolic links or junction points to redirect file operations to unintended locations. This class of vulnerability is commonly leveraged for privilege escalation, file tampering, or unauthorized access to protected resources. The vulnerability is listed on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, indicating confirmed in-the-wild exploitation.
MITRE ATT&CK
SPL Detection Query
index=windows (source="WinEventLog:Security" OR source="WinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational")
| eval event_id=coalesce(EventCode, event_id)
| where event_id IN ("4656", "4663", "4670", "1", "11")
| eval cmdline=coalesce(CommandLine, ProcessCommandLine, "")
| eval file_path=coalesce(TargetFilename, ObjectName, "")
| where match(cmdline, "(?i)(mklink|junction|CreateSymbolicLink|NtSetInformationFile)")
OR (match(file_path, "(?i)(\\\\Temp\\\\|\\\\AppData\\\\Local\\\\Temp\\\\.+\\.lnk$|\\\\Windows\\\\Temp\\\\)"))
| where NOT match(User, "(?i)(SYSTEM|NT AUTHORITY)")
| stats count AS event_count, values(cmdline) AS commands, values(file_path) AS paths, dc(host) AS host_count BY User, host, _time
| where event_count > 1
| sort - event_countDetects symbolic link and junction creation events via Sysmon and Windows Security logs for CVE-2025-60710. Looks for mklink, junction, and related API calls in temporary paths by non-system users.
Data Sources
Required Sourcetypes
False Positives & Tuning
- Software package managers (npm, pip, conda) creating symlinks for module resolution
- CI/CD pipeline agents running as non-system users performing build artifact linking
- Legitimate administrative scripts using mklink for storage management
Other platforms for CVE-2025-60710
Testing Methodology
Validate this detection against 3 adversary techniques from Atomic Red Team. Each test below lists the behaviour to exercise and the telemetry you should expect to see. Executable commands and cleanup steps are available with Pro.
- Test 1Create Symbolic Link in Temp Directory Targeting Privileged Path
Expected signal: Sysmon Event ID 1 capturing mklink.exe execution with command line containing the symlink and target paths; Sysmon Event ID 11 showing creation of test_link.txt in C:\Windows\Temp\.
- Test 2Junction Point Creation Targeting System32
Expected signal: Sysmon Event ID 1 with mklink /J command line and junction target; Windows Security Event ID 4663 on subsequent directory traversal through the junction.
- Test 3PowerShell Symbolic Link Creation via .NET API
Expected signal: Sysmon Event ID 1 showing powershell.exe with CreateSymbolicLink in command line; Sysmon Event ID 11 or 12 for the created link object in Temp directory.
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