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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 5 Dec 2023.
Windows 10 1809Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2023-36033

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-11-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.17763.5122 / 10.0.19041.3693 or later.
See remediation →
96/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Zero-click Patch available

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
Windows 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

Windows DWM Core Library contains a privilege escalation vulnerability that allows a local attacker to gain elevated system privileges. The Desktop Window Manager (DWM) runs with elevated privileges to render the desktop experience, and exploitation would grant the attacker SYSTEM-level access.

MitigationApply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2023-36033 via Windows Update or manually download the patch from Microsoft Update Catalog. Prioritize patching given the high-severity local privilege escalation risk.

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 1809Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.17763.5122
Windows 10 21h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19041.3693
Windows 10 22h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19045.3693
Windows 11 21h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.22000.2600
Windows 11 22h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.22621.2715
Windows 11 23h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.22621.2715
Windows Server 2019Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.17763.5122
Windows Server 2022Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.20348.2113

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. Check Windows version and build number
    Run 'winver' from command prompt or execute 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to obtain the exact Windows build version
    Affected if The build number falls below the fixed version for your Windows release (17763.5122 for 1809/Server 2019, 19041.3693 for 21h2, 19045.3693 for 22h2, 22000.2600 for 11 21h2, 22621.2715 for 11 22h2/23h2, or 20348.2113 for Server 2022)
  2. Identify Windows release branch
    Run 'winver' or check Settings > System > About to confirm whether you are on Windows 10 1809, 10 21h2, 10 22h2, Windows 11 21h2, 22h2, or 23h2, or Windows Server 2019/2022
    Affected if Your specific Windows release and build combination is listed in the affected versions range
  3. Confirm DWM Core Library presence
    Verify dwmcore.dll exists at C:\Windows\System32\dwmcore.dll - the vulnerability resides in this library
    Affected if The file exists and the system version matches an affected build range (this confirms the vulnerable component is present)

You are affected if your Windows build number is lower than the security update threshold for your specific Windows release version.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 10.0.17763.5122 / 10.0.19041.3693 / 10.0.19045.3693 or later
Fixed in 10.0.17763.512210.0.19041.369310.0.19045.3693
Vendor patch msrc.microsoft.com →
Interim mitigation

Apply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2023-36033 via Windows Update or manually download the patch from Microsoft Update Catalog. Prioritize patching given the high-severity local privilege escalation risk.

Recommended fix High confidence

Windows 10 1809: build 10.0.17763.5122 or later | Windows 10 21h2: build 10.0.19041.3693 or later | Windows 10 22h2: build 10.0.19045.3693 or later | Windows 11 21h2: build 10.0.22000.2600 or later | Windows 11 22h2/23h2: build 10.0.22621.2715 or later | Windows Server 2019: build 10.0.17763.5122 or

  1. Identify the current Windows version and build number by running 'winver' or 'systeminfo'
  2. Determine which version band your current build falls into (1809, 21h2, 22h2, or Server equivalents)
  3. Apply the appropriate Windows security update for your version from Microsoft Update Catalog or Windows Update
  4. For enterprise environments, deploy via WSUS or Microsoft Intune/MDM after testing
  5. Verify the update installed successfully by checking the installed updates list or running 'winver' to confirm the build matches or exceeds the fixed version
  6. Reboot the system as required to complete the installation
Caveat Standard Windows cumulative update - test in staging environment before broad deployment; may require reboot

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Windows 10 1809 Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,540
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,464.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-36033 — 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-2023-36033 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