September 2025: Critical CVEs Demand Urgent Action

September 2025 brings serious security challenges for enterprise teams. This month's recent CVEs include a perfect-score Azure flaw, actively exploited Fortinet vulnerabilities, and critical IT service management platform security flaws. Organizations must focus on enterprise security patch prioritization to protect their systems.

We’re highlighting five major threats security teams face this month. Each vulnerability poses unique risks that require immediate attention and careful planning.

CVE-2025-54914: Azure Networking Reaches Maximum Severity

Threat

Microsoft's Azure Networking vulnerability earns a perfect CVSS score of 10.0. This elevation of privilege flaw affects Azure's core networking infrastructure. Attackers can escalate privileges without authentication or user interaction. The vulnerability bypasses fundamental access controls in Microsoft's cloud platform.

Why It Matters

This vulnerability presents significant challenges for cloud security teams. Organizations using Azure networking services face immediate exposure. Unlike traditional software vulnerabilities, this cloud-based flaw impacts Microsoft's backend infrastructure directly. Attackers can gain administrative access to cloud networking resources without any customer involvement.

The vulnerability's cloud-native nature makes it particularly dangerous. Traditional security controls cannot prevent exploitation. Organizations depend entirely on Microsoft's remediation efforts while remaining exposed to potential attacks.

Mitigation

• Review Azure networking configurations immediately. 

• Enable comprehensive logging for all Azure networking activities. 

• Monitor for unusual administrative actions or privilege escalations. 

• Set up alerts for unexpected configuration changes.

Microsoft handles the actual patching since this affects their infrastructure. However, organizations should verify their monitoring capabilities capture potential exploitation attempts. Consider implementing additional network segmentation where possible.

CVE-2025-32756: Fortinet Products Under Active Attack

Threat

This stack-based buffer overflow affects multiple Fortinet products including FortiVoice, FortiMail, and FortiNDR. Attackers exploit the flaw through crafted HTTP requests containing malicious hash cookies. The vulnerability enables unauthenticated remote code execution on affected systems.

CISA added this vulnerability to their Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, confirming active exploitation in the wild vulnerabilities targeting organizations worldwide.

Why It Matters

Fortinet products protect many enterprise networks and communications systems. Successful exploitation gives attackers complete control over these critical security devices. Threat actors can then use compromised Fortinet systems to access internal networks, steal credentials, and establish persistent access.

Observed attacks include network reconnaissance, credential harvesting, and log tampering. Attackers delete system logs to hide their activities and make incident response more difficult.

Mitigation

• Update affected Fortinet products immediately. 

• FortiVoice users must upgrade to version 7.2.1 or higher. 

• FortiMail deployments need updates to the latest supported versions. 

• FortiNDR and other affected products require immediate patching.

If immediate patching is not possible, disable HTTP/HTTPS administrative interfaces as a temporary fix. This reduces the attack surface while planning full remediation. Monitor all Fortinet devices for suspicious activities or configuration changes.

CVE-2025-55234: Windows SMB Creates Network-Wide Risks

Threat

This Windows SMB elevation of privilege vulnerability affects Server Message Block implementations across Windows networks. The flaw enables relay attacks where attackers intercept and reuse authentication credentials. Microsoft publicly disclosed this vulnerability before patches became available.

Why It Matters

SMB protocol vulnerabilities can impact entire Windows networks simultaneously. Attackers can relay stolen credentials between systems to gain unauthorized access. This creates a domino effect where one compromised system can lead to network-wide breaches.

Public disclosure increases exploitation risk significantly. Attackers know about this vulnerability and actively develop exploits targeting vulnerable Windows environments.

Mitigation

• Enable SMB signing across all Windows systems immediately. 

• Implement Extended Protection for Authentication (EPA) on SMB servers. 

• Use Microsoft's September 2025 audit tools to identify systems that may have compatibility issues with enhanced security measures.

Test SMB hardening changes in non-production environments first. Some legacy systems may experience connectivity issues with stricter SMB security controls. Plan network segmentation for systems that cannot support enhanced SMB security.

CVE-2025-2776: SysAid Platforms Face Complete Compromise

Threat

This unauthenticated XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability affects SysAid's IT service management platform. Attackers submit malicious XML payloads through the server URL processing functionality. The flaw enables file system access, credential theft, and complete administrative takeover.

Why It Matters

SysAid systems often contain sensitive IT infrastructure information, user credentials, and system documentation. These IT service management platform security flaws provide attackers with detailed knowledge about organizational networks and security measures.

CISA confirmed active exploitation attempts against vulnerable SysAid installations. Attackers can chain this vulnerability with other flaws to achieve full remote code execution on affected servers.

Mitigation

Upgrade SysAid On-Premise installations to version 24.4.60 or later immediately. This update addresses the XXE vulnerability and prevents exploitation attempts.

• Review SysAid access logs for suspicious XML processing activities. 

• Look for unusual file access patterns or administrative account activities. 

• Consider temporarily restricting SysAid access to trusted internal networks while completing the update process.

CVE-2025-58848: WordPress Plugin Exposes Website Visitors

Threat

This stored cross-site scripting vulnerability affects the aakash1911 WP likes plugin. Attackers inject malicious scripts that execute when users visit affected WordPress sites. The stored nature means malicious code persists across multiple user sessions.

Why It Matters

Stored XSS vulnerabilities can steal user credentials, hijack sessions, and redirect visitors to malicious websites. High-traffic WordPress sites face particular risks since attacks affect all website visitors. The vulnerability's persistence makes it difficult to detect and remove without proper security tools.

WordPress plugin vulnerabilities often go unpatched for extended periods. Many site administrators do not regularly update plugins or monitor security advisories.

Mitigation

• Remove the affected aakash1911 WP likes plugin immediately if installed. 

• Check for plugin updates and apply them if available. 

• Implement WordPress security scanning tools that detect vulnerable plugins automatically.

• Review WordPress access logs for suspicious activities related to the vulnerable plugin. 

• Consider implementing a Web Application Firewall (WAF) that can block XSS attempts. 

• Regularly audit all installed WordPress plugins and remove unused components.

Building Effective Response Strategies

Organizations need comprehensive approaches to handle these diverse threats. Prioritize actively exploited vulnerabilities first, focusing on the Fortinet and SysAid vulnerabilities since attackers currently target these systems. Establish clear escalation procedures for critical vulnerabilities and maintain updated inventories of all enterprise systems.

Create monitoring capabilities that detect exploitation attempts for these vulnerability types. Use CISA's KEV catalog to stay informed about newly discovered active exploitation campaigns. Regular security assessments help identify vulnerable systems before attackers find them.

Strengthening Skills Through Hands-On Practice

Security teams benefit significantly from practical experience with vulnerability exploitation and mitigation techniques. INE's Skill Dive Vulnerabilities Lab Collection provides cybersecurity professionals with hands-on practice using actual CVEs in safe, controlled environments. 

Regular training with real vulnerability scenarios helps teams build muscle memory for incident response. When actual vulnerabilities like September's critical CVEs emerge, experienced teams can respond more quickly and effectively. Consider incorporating vulnerability lab training into regular security team development programs to strengthen defensive capabilities.

Accelerated threat landscape growth demands proactive security management. Organizations that combine systematic vulnerability management processes with hands-on security training can respond more effectively to critical security events like September's CVE releases.