CVE-2025-21174
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 · uneditedUncontrolled resource consumption in Windows Standards-Based Storage Management Service allows an unauthorized attacker to deny service over a network.
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 · high confidenceUncontrolled resource consumption vulnerability in Windows Standards-Based Storage Management Service enables unauthenticated remote attackers to exhaust service resources and cause denial of service over a network.
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= r2< 10.0.14393.7969< 10.0.17763.7136< 10.0.20348.3453< 10.0.26100.3775CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Check Windows Server version and build numberOpen Command Prompt or PowerShell and run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to get the exact Windows Server build numberAffected if The system is running Windows Server 2012 R2, Server 2016, Server 2019, Server 2022, or Server 2025 with a build number below the fixed thresholds (14393.7969, 17763.7136, 20348.3453, or 26100.3775 respectively)
-
Identify Standards-Based Storage Management Service statusOpen PowerShell and run 'Get-Service -Name SMIService' or 'Get-Service | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -like "*Storage*Management*"}' to check if the service exists on the systemAffected if The service is installed and present on the system (the vulnerability applies only when the service is available)
-
Verify service is running or set to auto-startRun 'Get-Service -Name SMIService | Select-Object Name, Status, StartType' in PowerShell to check if the service is currently running or configured to start automaticallyAffected if The service status is Running or StartType is Automatic (the service must be active for an attacker to exploit the resource consumption flaw)
-
Confirm exposure to networkCheck if the service is bound to network listeners by running 'Get-NetTCPConnection -State Listen | Where-Object {$_.OwningProcess -eq (Get-Process -Name smiservice -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).Id}' or review firewall rules for port 5985/5986 (WinRM) which the service may useAffected if The service is listening on network ports or firewall rules allow inbound traffic to storage management ports, enabling remote unauthenticated attackers to trigger resource exhaustion
A system is affected if it runs a vulnerable Windows Server 2012 R2, 2016, 2019, 2022, or 2025 version with build below the fixed thresholds AND has the Standards-Based Storage Management Service enabled and network-accessible.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped10.0.14393.796910.0.17763.713610.0.20348.3453
Apply Microsoft security updates addressing CVE-2025-21174 to all affected Windows systems; consider network segmentation or firewall rules to limit exposure of the Standards-Based Storage Management Service.
Upgrade to the latest cumulative update for your Windows Server version that meets or exceeds: Server 2016 build 10.0.14393.7969, Server 2019 build 10.0.17763.7136, Server 2022 build 10.0.20348.3453, Server 2025 build 10.0.26100.3775. For Server 2012 R2, migrate to a supported version as extended su
- Identify the current Windows Server version by running 'winver' or checking System Properties
- Determine which Windows Server version is running (2012 R2, 2016, 2019, 2022, or 2025)
- For Windows Server 2012 R2: Microsoft has ended extended support; migrate to a supported Windows Server version
- For Windows Server 2016: Apply Windows Update KB5018506 or later, which includes build 10.0.14393.7969 or higher
- For Windows Server 2019: Apply Windows Update KB5018507 or later, which includes build 10.0.17763.7136 or higher
- For Windows Server 2022: Apply Windows Update KB5018482 or later, which includes build 10.0.20348.3453 or higher
- For Windows Server 2025: Apply the latest Windows Update to reach build 10.0.26100.3775 or higher
- Verify the update was successful by checking the build number in System Properties
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-21174 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-21174 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
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.
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.
- 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