Microsoft reported that the Windows security updates for August 2025 may trigger unexpected User Account Control (UAC) prompts and cause problems with app installations. The bug affects users without administrator privileges across all supported versions of Windows.
The issue is caused by a patch that addresses a privilege escalation vulnerability in Windows Installer (CVE-2025-50173). This vulnerability allowed authenticated attackers to obtain SYSTEM-level privileges.
To address the issue, Microsoft has introduced new UAC prompts that request administrator credentials in various situations to prevent potential privilege escalation by attackers. In some scenarios, these prompts may appear when executing MSI repair commands (such as msiexec /fu), as well as when installing applications that configure themselves per user and invoke Windows Installer during Active Setup.
These changes may also prevent users from: deploying packages via Configuration Manager (ConfigMgr) that depend on user-specific advertising configurations; enabling Secure Desktop; launching Autodesk applications, including certain versions of AutoCAD, Civil 3D, and Inventor CAM.
The full list of affected platforms is extensive and includes both client and server versions.
Client: Windows 11 24H2; Windows 11 23H2; Windows 11 22H2; Windows 10 22H2; Windows 10 21H2; Windows 10 1809; Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2019; Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2016; Windows 10 1607; Windows 10 Enterprise 2015 LTSB.
Server editions: Windows Server 2025; Windows Server 2022; Windows Server 1809; Windows Server 2019; Windows Server 2016; Windows Server 2012 R2; Windows Server 2012.
“The August 2025 Windows security update (KB5063878) and later updates include an enhancement that ensures User Account Control (UAC) prompts for administrator credentials when performing repairs via Windows Installer (MSI) and related operations,” the developers explain. “If a standard user launches an application that initiates an MSI repair operation without displaying a UI, it will end with an error message. For example, installing and launching Office Professional Plus 2010 as a standard user will fail with Error 1730 during the configuration process.”
Microsoft has reported that it’s already working on a fix for this issue. Soon, administrators will be able to allow certain applications to perform MSI repair operations without UAC prompts.
Until a fix is released, Microsoft recommends that users run applications that use Windows Installer (MSI) as an administrator.