dbcve.org
Windows 10 20h2Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2023-21724

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-01-10
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Microsoft DWM Core Library Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

This is an Elevation of Privilege vulnerability in the Microsoft Desktop Window Manager (DWM) Core Library, a core Windows component responsible for desktop compositing and rendering. The vulnerability allows a local attacker to gain elevated system privileges.

MitigationApply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2023-21724 via Windows Update or manual patch deployment, then verify the update installed correctly.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Windows 10 20h2Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 10 21h2Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 10 22h2Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 11 21h2Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 11 22h2Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2022Operating system
Affected:all versions

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Windows version
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to determine the installed Windows version and build number
    Affected if The version matches Windows 10 20h2, 21h2, 22h2, Windows 11 21h2, 22h2, or Windows Server 2022
  2. Check DWM Core Library presence
    Verify the DWM core library exists at C:\Windows\System32\dwmcore.dll
    Affected if The file exists (which it normally does on affected systems)
  3. Verify security update installed
    Run 'wmic qfe list' or check Windows Update history for KB5019178 (Windows 10) or KB5019177 (Windows 11) or the equivalent server update. Alternatively, run 'Get-HotFix -Id KB5019178' (adjust KB number based on your Windows version)
    Affected if The specific CVE-2023-21724 security update is NOT installed (indicating the system is vulnerable)

A user is affected if they run any of the listed Windows versions AND the CVE-2023-21724 security update is not installed.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2023-21724 via Windows Update or manual patch deployment, then verify the update installed correctly.

Fix this in Windows 10 20h2 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,664.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-21724 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-21724 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data