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Windows 10 21h2Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2025-26681

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-04-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.19044.5737 / 10.0.19045.5737 or later.
See remediation →
67/100
Remediation priority · Elevated

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 Win32K - GRFX 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 exists in the Windows Win32K graphics subsystem (GRFX) that allows a locally authenticated attacker to elevate privileges to SYSTEM by exploiting the memory corruption flaw in kernel-mode code.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates for CVE-2025-26681 immediately to all affected Windows systems, as this local privilege escalation can be chained with other vulnerabilities.

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 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 2022Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.20348.3453
Windows Server 2022 23h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.25398.1551
Windows Server 2025Operating 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
Local
Complexity
High
Privileges
Low
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/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' command or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to get the installed Windows version and build number
    Affected if The build number is lower than the threshold for your Windows version (19044.5737 for 21h2, 19045.5737 for 10 22h2, 22621.5189 for 11 22h2, 22631.5189 for 11 23h2, 26100.3775 for 11 24h2/Server 2025, 20348.3453 for Server 2022, 25398.1551 for Server 2022 23h2)
  2. Confirm Win32K subsystem is present
    Verify the system is running a full Windows desktop or server experience with graphics capabilities - Win32K.sys is present by default on all Windows systems; check via 'driverquery /v | findstr Win32K'
    Affected if System has Win32K graphics subsystem available (all standard Windows installations)
  3. Verify local authentication access
    Assess whether untrusted local users exist on the system who could exploit this flaw - check user accounts with 'net user' and review permissions
    Affected if Non-admin users or service accounts with local access exist on the system

A system is affected if it runs any Windows version listed with a build number lower than the specified threshold, as the use-after-free in Win32K kernel-mode code can be exploited by a locally authenticated attacker to gain SYSTEM privileges.

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 10.0.19044.5737 / 10.0.19045.5737 / 10.0.20348.3453 or later
Fixed in 10.0.19044.573710.0.19045.573710.0.20348.3453
Interim mitigation

Apply Microsoft security updates for CVE-2025-26681 immediately to all affected Windows systems, as this local privilege escalation can be chained with other vulnerabilities.

Recommended fix High confidence

Windows 10 21h2: 10.0.19044.5737 or later | Windows 10 22h2: 10.0.19045.5737 or later | Windows 11 22h2: 10.0.22621.5189 or later | Windows 11 23h2: 10.0.22631.5189 or later | Windows 11 24h2: 10.0.26100.3775 or later | Windows Server 2022: 10.0.20348.3453 or later | Windows Server 2022 23h2: 10.0.2

  1. Verify current Windows build version by running 'winver' or 'systeminfo' in Command Prompt
  2. Download and install the appropriate Windows update from Microsoft Update Catalog or Windows Update that corresponds to your version (e.g., for Windows 10 22h2 install update containing build 10.0.19045.5737 or later)
  3. Restart the system after applying the update
  4. Confirm the update was successful by checking the build version again with 'winver'
Caveat Standard Windows update - minimal risk; apply during maintenance window and ensure backups exist

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

Fix this in Windows 10 21h2 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.

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-2025-26681 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