dbcve.org
Windows 10 1809Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2025-24074

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-04-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.17763.7136 / 10.0.19044.5737 or later.
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
Improper input validation in Windows DWM Core Library allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.

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

CVE-2025-24074 is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in the Windows Desktop Window Manager (DWM) Core Library caused by improper input validation. An authorized attacker with local access can exploit this vulnerability to elevate privileges on the affected system, potentially gaining administrative or SYSTEM-level access.

MitigationApply the Microsoft security updates for this vulnerability via Windows Update or the Microsoft Security Update Guide once released. Prioritize patching endpoints that are directly accessible to untrusted local users.

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:< 10.0.17763.7136
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
Windows Server 2019Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.17763.7136
Windows Server 2022Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.20348.3453

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 build number
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to retrieve the installed Windows build version
    Affected if The build version is lower than the threshold for your Windows release: 17763.7136 (1809/Server 2019), 19044.5737 (21h2), 19045.5737 (22h2), 22621.5189 (22h2), 22631.5189 (23h2), 26100.3775 (24h2), or 20348.3453 (Server 2022)
  2. Confirm Windows release version
    Run 'winver' and note the release (such as 'Version 22H2' or 'Windows 11 23H2') to match the correct build threshold
    Affected if The displayed release matches an affected version and the build number is below the corresponding threshold
  3. Check DWM Core Library file version
    Locate dwmcore.dll (typically in C:\Windows\System32\) and view its Properties > Details, or run 'powershell (Get-Item C:\Windows\System32\dwmcore.dll).VersionInfo'
    Affected if The file version is lower than the security update version for your Windows release (the DLL version correlates with the OS build numbers listed above)
  4. Verify Windows Update patch status
    Open Settings > Windows Update > View update history, or run 'powershell Get-HotFix | Sort-Object InstalledOn -Descending | Select-Object -First 10' to list recent installed updates
    Affected if No security update for CVE-2025-24074 appears in the installed updates list for your Windows version

Your system is affected if it runs any of the listed Windows versions AND the installed build number is below the specified threshold AND the corresponding security patch 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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 10.0.17763.7136 / 10.0.19044.5737 / 10.0.19045.5737 or later
Fixed in 10.0.17763.713610.0.19044.573710.0.19045.5737
Interim mitigation

Apply the Microsoft security updates for this vulnerability via Windows Update or the Microsoft Security Update Guide once released. Prioritize patching endpoints that are directly accessible to untrusted local users.

Recommended fix High confidence

Windows 10 1809: 10.0.17763.7136+ | Windows 10 21h2: 10.0.19044.5737+ | Windows 10 22h2: 10.0.19045.5737+ | Windows 11 22h2: 10.0.22621.5189+ | Windows 11 23h2: 10.0.22631.5189+ | Windows 11 24h2: 10.0.26100.3775+ | Windows Server 2019: 10.0.17763.7136+ | Windows Server 2022: 10.0.20348.3453+

  1. Open Windows Settings and navigate to Windows Update
  2. Click 'Check for updates' and install all available security updates
  3. For enterprise deployments, use Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) or Microsoft Intune to deploy the CVE-2025-24074 security update
  4. After installation, restart the affected systems to apply the DWM Core Library patch
  5. Verify the update was applied by checking Windows Update history for the KB number corresponding to CVE-2025-24074 (typically released in the referenced Microsoft Security Update Guide)
Caveat Standard Windows update with no expected breaking changes; this is a privilege escalation fix in the DWM Core Library

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

Fix this in Windows 10 1809 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2025-24074 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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