CVE-2025-48818
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 · uneditedTime-of-check time-of-use (toctou) race condition in Windows BitLocker allows an unauthorized attacker to bypass a security feature with a physical attack.
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 confidenceA time-of-check time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition exists in Windows BitLocker that allows an attacker with physical access to the machine to bypass security controls. The vulnerability creates a timing window between security state verification and enforcement that can be exploited during a physical attack.
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< 10.0.10240.21073< 10.0.14393.8246< 10.0.17763.7558< 10.0.19044.6093< 10.0.19045.6093< 10.0.22621.5624< 10.0.22631.5624< 10.0.26100.4652CVSS 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
- Physical
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check Windows version against affected rangesRun 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Version"' and compare the build number to the affected versions: 10.0.10240.21073 (1507), 10.0.14393.8246 (1607), 10.0.17763.7558 (1809), 10.0.19044.6093 (21h2), 10.0.19045.6093 (22h2), 10.0.22621.5624 (22h2), 10.0.22631.5624 (23h2), 10.0.26100.4652 (24h2). Your version is vulnerable if it is lower than the threshold for your release.Affected if Your Windows build number falls below the threshold for your specific Windows release and BitLocker is in use
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Verify BitLocker is enabled on the systemOpen an elevated PowerShell and run 'Get-BitLockerVolume -MountPoint C:' or use 'manage-bde -status C:' to check if BitLocker is active.Affected if BitLocker shows as 'FullyEncrypted' or 'EncryptionInProgress' on any volume - the race condition only affects systems where BitLocker is actually enabled
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Check BitLocker protection statusRun 'Get-BitLockerVolume | Select-Object VolumeType, MountPoint, ProtectionStatus' to see if protection is 'On' or 'Off'.Affected if ProtectionStatus shows 'On' - this indicates BitLocker is enforcing encryption and the TOCTOU window exists during state transitions
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Identify BitLocker authentication methods in useRun 'manage-bde - protectors -get C:' or check Group Policy at Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > BitLocker Drive Encryption to see if only TPM protection is configured without additional PIN or USB key.Affected if Only TPM-based protection is enabled without PIN or USB key authentication - the race condition is more exploitable in these configurations
You are affected if your Windows version is below the threshold for your specific release AND BitLocker is enabled with protection status On, particularly when using TPM-only authentication without additional factors like PIN or USB key.
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 · scoped10.0.10240.2107310.0.14393.824610.0.17763.7558
Apply Microsoft security updates for BitLocker when released; in the interim, enforce strict physical access controls, consider additional layer of authentication such as PIN or USB key, and monitor systems for tampering indicators.
Upgrade to the specific build number for your Windows version as listed in the fixed versions above, or apply the latest cumulative security update for your Windows release from Windows Update/Microsoft Update Catalog
- Identify current Windows version and build number by running 'winver' or 'systeminfo' in Command Prompt
- Determine if the current build falls within the affected version ranges listed for this CVE
- Obtain the appropriate security update for your Windows version from Microsoft Update Catalog or Windows Update
- Install the security update and restart the system
- Verify the installed build number matches or exceeds the fixed version for your Windows release: Windows 10 1507: 10.0.10240.21073, Windows 10 1607: 10.0.14393.8246, Windows 10 1809: 10.0.17763.7558, Windows 10 21h2: 10.0.19044.6093, Windows 10 22h2: 10.0.19045.6093, Windows 11 22h2: 10.0.22621.5624, Windows 11 23h2: 10.0.22631.5624, Windows 11 24h2: 10.0.26100.4652
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-48818 — 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-2025-48818 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
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- 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
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