CVE-2025-53788
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 Subsystem for Linux 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 confidenceA time-of-check time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition in Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) allows a locally authorized attacker to exploit a timing window between security validation and resource access, enabling local privilege escalation.
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< 2.5.10CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check installed WSL versionOpen Command Prompt or PowerShell and run 'wsl --version' or 'wsl -l -v' to list installed WSL distributions and their version numbersAffected if The displayed WSL version is lower than 2.5.10
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Check WSL kernel versionRun 'wsl -e cat /proc/version' or open any WSL distribution and run 'cat /proc/version' to view the kernel versionAffected if The kernel version corresponds to a WSL release older than version 2.5.10
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Verify WSL statusRun 'wsl --status' in Command Prompt or PowerShell to display WSL installation state and default version informationAffected if WSL is installed but reports a version below 2.5.10
The environment is affected if Windows Subsystem for Linux is installed and running any version lower than 2.5.10, as the TOCTOU race condition exists only in those versions.
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 · scoped2.5.10
Apply available Microsoft security updates for WSL promptly; in the interim, limit local user privileges and monitor for suspicious WSL process activity.
Windows Subsystem for Linux version 2.5.10 or later
- Open PowerShell or Command Prompt
- Run 'wsl --version' to check current WSL version
- If version is less than 2.5.10, run 'wsl --update' to update WSL to the latest version
- Alternatively, download and install WSL version 2.5.10 or later from the Microsoft Store or Windows Update
- Restart WSL after updating: run 'wsl --shutdown' then launch a distribution
- Verify the fix by running 'wsl --version' and confirming the version is 2.5.10 or higher
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,832.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-53788 — 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-2025-53788 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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