Always On VPN Security Updates July 2025

Patch Tuesday has arrived, and, unlike last month, it’s a busy month for Always On VPN administrators. The June 2025 Microsoft security updates address a whopping 16 (!) vulnerabilities in the Windows Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS). Notably, DirectAccess administrators are once again impacted by a critical vulnerability in the Windows KDC Proxy Service (KPSSVC) this month.

RRAS

As stated previously, this month’s update addresses 16 unique CVEs in Windows Server RRAS. All are memory-related buffer overflows and out-of-bounds reads, indicating that a security researcher was recently probing for vulnerabilities in RRAS.

While all the above CVEs are Remote Code Execution (RCE) and Information Disclosure vulnerabilities, none are rated as Critical; all are rated as Important. This means exploitation is unlikely, but administrators are encouraged to update as soon as possible.

KDC Proxy

This month’s security update includes another Critical RCE in the Windows KDC Proxy Service (KPSSVC).

The KDC Proxy is enabled by default when DirectAccess is configured. By design, this means the service is exposed to the public Internet, posing a significant risk to organizations using DirectAccess for secure remote access. Administrators are urged to update their systems immediately to avoid compromise.

Additional Information

Microsoft July 2025 Security Updates

Always On VPN Security Updates February 2025

After a few months without any security updates directly affecting Microsoft Always On VPN administrators, the February 2025 security updates include fixes for two vulnerabilities in Windows Server Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS) servers, commonly deployed to support Always On VPN.

RRAS Updates

This month’s updates for Windows Server RRAS cover the following publicly announced CVEs.

Importance

Both updates are for heap-based buffer overflow Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities are rated as important and require user interaction to execute, making exploitation less likely.

KB5014754

Importantly, this month’s release enables full enforcement of strong certificate mapping on Windows domain controllers by default. Full enforcement for strong certificate mapping was first introduced with Microsoft security update KB5014754. I’ve written about this recently, so hopefully, everyone is prepared! If your Always On VPN connections begin to fail after applying the February 2025 security updates to your domain controllers, your certificates may not be strongly mapped. Fortunately, there’s a workaround. You can learn more here.

Additional Information

Microsoft February 2025 Security Updates

Strong Certificate Mapping Enforcement February 2025

KB5014754 Certificate-based Authentication Changes on Windows Domain Controllers