dbcve.org
Windows 10 1507Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2025-21197

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-04-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.10240.20978 / 10.0.14393.7969 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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
Improper access control in Windows NTFS allows an authorized attacker to disclose file path information under a folder where the attacker doesn't have permission to list content.

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 NTFS contains an improper access control vulnerability that allows an authenticated attacker to enumerate and disclose file path information within directories where they lack list permissions. This enables unauthorized visibility into the directory structure of protected folders without directly accessing the file contents.

MitigationApply the Microsoft security updates for CVE-2025-21197 immediately. As defense-in-depth, audit file system permissions and ensure principle of least privilege is enforced for directory access controls.

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 1507Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.10240.20978
Windows 10 1607Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.14393.7969
Windows 10 1809Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.17763.7136
Windows 10 21h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19044.5737
Windows 10 22h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19045.5737
Windows 11 22h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.22621.5189
Windows 11 23h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.22631.5189
Windows 11 24h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.26100.3775

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

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

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. Retrieve installed Windows version and build number
    Open Command Prompt or PowerShell and run 'winver' to see the version and build, or use 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"', or query the registry with 'reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion" /v CurrentBuild'
    Affected if The displayed build number is below the threshold for your Windows release (see version-specific thresholds in CVE documentation)
  2. Identify Windows release version
    Check if your system is Windows 10 1507, 1607, 1809, 21h2, 22h2, or Windows 11 22h2, 23h2, or 24h2 using 'winver' or the registry query above to find the ReleaseId or CurrentBuild
    Affected if You are running any of the affected Windows versions listed in the CVE
  3. Compare build against affected thresholds
    Cross-reference your installed build number with the specific thresholds: Windows 10 1507 requires 10.0.10240.20978 or later; 1607 requires 10.0.14393.7969 or later; 1809 requires 10.0.17763.7136 or later; 21h2 requires 10.0.19044.5737 or later; 22h2 requires 10.0.19045.5737 or later; Windows 11 22h2 requires 10.0.22621.5189 or later; 23h2 requires 10.0.22631.5189 or later; 24h2 requires 10.0.26100.3775 or later
    Affected if Your installed build number is lower than the required threshold for your specific Windows release

You are affected if your Windows installation matches one of the listed versions AND the installed build number falls below the corresponding threshold, meaning the security update for CVE-2025-21197 has not been applied.

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 10.0.10240.20978 / 10.0.14393.7969 / 10.0.17763.7136 or later
Fixed in 10.0.10240.2097810.0.14393.796910.0.17763.7136
Interim mitigation

Apply the Microsoft security updates for CVE-2025-21197 immediately. As defense-in-depth, audit file system permissions and ensure principle of least privilege is enforced for directory access controls.

Recommended fix High confidence

Install the appropriate Windows security update for your version to reach the fixed build number listed above

  1. Open Windows Update settings on the affected Windows system
  2. Check for and install the latest Windows security updates
  3. Verify the NTFS version has been updated to one of the fixed builds: 10.0.10240.20978 (Win10 1507), 10.0.14393.7969 (Win10 1607), 10.0.17763.7136 (Win10 1809), 10.0.19044.5737 (Win10 21h2), 10.0.19045.5737 (Win10 22h2), 10.0.22621.5189 (Win11 22h2), 10.0.22631.5189 (Win11 23h2), or 10.0.26100.3775 (Win11 24h2)
  4. Restart the system if required to complete the update installation
Caveat Standard Windows update risks apply - ensure backups and test in non-production environments before deploying organization-wide

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

Fix this in Windows 10 1507 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 the upgrade done

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-2025-21197 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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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-2025-21197 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