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Windows 10 1809Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2025-26640

HIGH · 7.0 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 →
72/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
Use after free in Windows Digital Media 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

A use-after-free vulnerability in Windows Digital Media allows an authenticated local attacker to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges. The vulnerability stems from improper memory management in the digital media component, where memory is accessed after being freed.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates for Windows Digital Media once available, as this is a Windows system-level vulnerability requiring vendor patches.

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 2022 23h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.25398.1551

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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 and build number
    Open Command Prompt and run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to get the exact Windows version and build number.
    Affected if The displayed build number is lower than the fixed version for your specific Windows release.
  2. Confirm Windows 10 build version
    Run 'winver' on Windows 10 systems. For 1809, look for build 17763; for 21h2, look for build 19044; for 22h2, look for build 19045. Compare against 17763.7136, 19044.5737, or 19045.5737 respectively.
    Affected if Running Windows 10 1809 below build 17763.7136, 21h2 below 19044.5737, or 22h2 below 19045.5737.
  3. Confirm Windows 11 build version
    Run 'winver' on Windows 11 systems. For 22h2, look for build 22621; for 23h2, look for build 22631; for 24h2, look for build 26100. Compare against 22621.5189, 22631.5189, or 26100.3775 respectively.
    Affected if Running Windows 11 22h2 below build 22621.5189, 23h2 below 22631.5189, or 24h2 below 26100.3775.
  4. Confirm Windows Server version and build
    Run 'systeminfo' or 'winver' on Windows Server systems. For Server 2019, check for build 17763; for Server 2022 23h2, check for build 25398. Compare against 17763.7136 or 25398.1551.
    Affected if Running Windows Server 2019 below build 17763.7136 or Server 2022 23h2 below build 25398.1551.

Your environment is affected if the installed Windows build number is lower than the specified threshold for your particular Windows release (10 1809/21h2/22h2, 11 22h2/23h2/24h2, or Server 2019/2022 23h2).

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 Microsoft security updates for Windows Digital Media once available, as this is a Windows system-level vulnerability requiring vendor patches.

Recommended fix High confidence

March 2025 Windows Security Updates (KB5002537) - apply version >= 10.0.17763.7136 for Windows 10 1809/Server 2019, >= 10.0.19044.5737 for Windows 10 21h2, >= 10.0.19045.5737 for Windows 10 22h2, >= 10.0.22621.5189 for Windows 11 22h2, >= 10.0.22631.5189 for Windows 11 23h2, >= 10.0.26100.3775 for W

  1. Identify current Windows build version by running 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"'
  2. Navigate to Settings > Windows Update > Check for updates
  3. Alternatively, download the specific security update from the Microsoft Update Catalog (search for KB5002537 or the March 2025 security updates)
  4. For enterprise deployments, use WSUS or Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager to deploy the March 2025 security updates
  5. After installation, restart the affected system to complete the patching process
  6. Verify the update was applied by checking the installed updates list or running 'winver' to confirm the build number matches or exceeds the fixed version for your Windows release
Caveat Standard Patch Tuesday update - may require restart; test mission-critical applications before broad deployment in enterprise environments

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
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2025-26640 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