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Windows 11 22h2Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2025-50168

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-08-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.22621.5768 / 10.0.22631.5768 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
Access of resource using incompatible type ('type confusion') in Windows Win32K - ICOMP 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 type confusion vulnerability in the Windows Win32K subsystem's ICOMP component allows a locally authorized attacker to exploit improper type handling to elevate privileges from a low-privileged context to SYSTEM level access.

MitigationApply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2025-50168 across all affected Windows systems and verify successful patch deployment.

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 11 22h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.22621.5768
Windows 11 23h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.22631.5768
Windows 11 24h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.26100.4851
Windows Server 2022 23h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.25398.1791
Windows Server 2025Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.26100.4851

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 version
    Open Command Prompt or PowerShell and run: `winver` or `systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Version"` or `[System.Environment]::OSVersion.Version`
    Affected if The displayed build number is lower than 10.0.22621.5768 (for 22h2), 10.0.22631.5768 (for 23h2), 10.0.26100.4851 (for 24h2), 10.0.25398.1791 (for Server 2022 23h2), or 10.0.26100.4851 (for Server 2025)
  2. Confirm Windows edition matches affected product line
    Run `systeminfo | findstr /C:"OS Name"` and verify the system is one of: Windows 11 22h2, Windows 11 23h2, Windows 11 24h2, Windows Server 2022, or Windows Server 2025
    Affected if The edition is Windows 11 or Windows Server and the build version falls within the affected ranges in step 1
  3. Verify local user context
    Run `whoami /groups` to confirm the current user is a low-privileged user (not already running as Administrator or SYSTEM)
    Affected if The current user is in the Users group or equivalent low-privilege context and the Windows version is vulnerable per steps 1-2

The system is affected if it runs a Windows 11 or Windows Server version within the specified build ranges AND the attacker has local low-privileged access to attempt privilege escalation via the Win32K ICOMP component.

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 10.0.22621.5768 / 10.0.22631.5768 / 10.0.25398.1791 or later
Fixed in 10.0.22621.576810.0.22631.576810.0.25398.1791
Interim mitigation

Apply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2025-50168 across all affected Windows systems and verify successful patch deployment.

Recommended fix High confidence

Windows 11 22h2: 10.0.22621.5768 or later | Windows 11 23h2: 10.0.22631.5768 or later | Windows 11 24h2: 10.0.26100.4851 or later | Windows Server 2022 23h2: 10.0.25398.1791 or later | Windows Server 2025: 10.0.26100.4851 or later

  1. Open Windows Settings on the affected system
  2. Navigate to Windows Update (Settings > Windows Update)
  3. Click 'Check for updates' to download and install the latest security updates
  4. Ensure the update includes the fix for CVE-2025-50168 (Windows Win32K - ICOMP privilege escalation)
  5. Restart the system after the update is installed
  6. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds: Windows 11 22h2: 10.0.22621.5768 | Windows 11 23h2: 10.0.22631.5768 | Windows 11 24h2: 10.0.26100.4851 | Windows Server 2022 23h2: 10.0.25398.1791 | Windows Server 2025: 10.0.26100.4851
Caveat Standard Windows update with no expected breaking changes; as a privilege escalation fix, apply promptly

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

Fix this in Windows 11 22h2 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,760
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2025-50168 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