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Windows 11 24h2Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2025-50174

HIGH · 7.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-10-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.26100.6899 / 10.0.26200.6899 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 Device Association Broker service 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 Device Association Broker (DAB) service where memory is accessed after it has been freed, enabling a local authenticated attacker to achieve privilege escalation to higher integrity levels.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates for CVE-2025-50174 promptly; prioritize patching endpoint systems given the local privilege elevation vector.

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 24h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.26100.6899
Windows 11 25h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.26200.6899
Windows Server 2025Operating system
Affected:<= 10.0.26100.6899

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 build version
    Run 'winver' or check the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion for CurrentBuild and DisplayVersion values. Alternatively, run 'systeminfo' and locate the OS Version line.
    Affected if The build number is less than 26100.6899 for Windows 11 24h2 or Windows Server 2025, or less than 26200.6899 for Windows 25h2.
  2. Confirm Windows edition
    Run 'winver' or check the registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion to confirm the specific Windows edition (e.g., Windows 11 24h2, Windows 11 25h2, or Windows Server 2025).
    Affected if The edition matches one of the affected versions and the build number falls below the corresponding threshold.
  3. Verify DAB service presence
    Open Services (services.msc) and locate the Device Association Broker service, or run 'sc query DeviceAssociationBroker' from an elevated command prompt.
    Affected if The Device Association Broker service exists on the system (this is the vulnerable component).
  4. Check current patch state
    Open Windows Update History or run 'powershell Get-HotFix' to list installed security updates. Look for any updates released after the CVE publication date that address this vulnerability.
    Affected if No corresponding security update for CVE-2025-50174 has been installed.

The system is affected if it runs Windows 11 24h2, Windows 11 25h2, or Windows Server 2025 with a build number below the fixed thresholds AND the Device Association Broker service is present.

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 10.0.26100.6899 / 10.0.26200.6899 or later
Fixed in 10.0.26100.689910.0.26200.6899
Interim mitigation

Apply Microsoft security updates for CVE-2025-50174 promptly; prioritize patching endpoint systems given the local privilege elevation vector.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Windows 11 24h2: Build 10.0.26100.6899 or later | Windows 11 25h2: Build 10.0.26200.6899 or later | Windows Server 2025: Build 10.0.26100.6899 or later

  1. Open Windows Settings
  2. Navigate to Windows Update
  3. Click Check for updates
  4. Install all available security updates including the CVE-2025-50174 patch
  5. Restart the system if prompted
  6. Verify the build version by running 'winver' command to confirm the build is 10.0.26100.6899 or higher for Windows 11 24h2/Server 2025, or 10.0.26200.6899 or higher for Windows 11 25h2
Caveat Standard Windows update risks apply - ensure backups of critical data before updating

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

Fix this in Windows 11 24h2 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-50174 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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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-2025-50174 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