dbcve.org
Windows 10 1507Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2025-53801

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-09-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.10240.21128 / 10.0.14393.8422 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
Untrusted pointer dereference in Windows DWM 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

This vulnerability is an untrusted pointer dereference flaw in the Windows Desktop Window Manager (DWM) process. The DWM is a core Windows system service responsible for compositing the desktop visual display. By exploiting this pointer dereference issue, a locally authenticated attacker can manipulate memory to elevate their privileges from a standard user to higher system privileges.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates for CVE-2025-53801 once released. Validate that Windows Update is functional and that patches are deployed across affected endpoints. Until a patch is available, limit local user access and monitor for suspicious DWM process behavior.

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 1507Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.10240.21128
Windows 10 1607Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.14393.8422
Windows 10 1809Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.17763.7792
Windows 10 21h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19044.6332
Windows 10 22h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19045.6332
Windows 11 22h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.22621.5909
Windows 11 23h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.22631.5909
Windows Server 2016Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.14393.8422

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 your Windows build number
    Open Command Prompt or PowerShell and run: `winver` or `systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"` to display the full Windows build version.
    Affected if The displayed build version falls below any of these thresholds: 10240.21128 (1507), 14393.8422 (1607/Server 2016), 17763.7792 (1809), 19044.6332 (21h2), 19045.6332 (22h2), 22621.5909 (Win 11 22h2), or 22631.5909 (Win 11 23h2).
  2. Confirm DWM process is running
    Open PowerShell and run: `Get-Process -Name dwm* -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue` or check Task Manager for the "Desktop Window Manager" (dwm.exe) process.
    Affected if The DWM process is present and running, which is the default state on supported Windows desktop editions.
  3. Identify current user privilege context
    Open Command Prompt and run: `whoami /groups` to list group memberships, or `whoami /priv` to view current privileges.
    Affected if The current user is a standard user without administrative privileges, as the vulnerability allows escalation from low-privileged to SYSTEM.
  4. Verify patch installation status
    Open PowerShell and run: `Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.Description -match "Security Update"} | Sort-Object InstalledOn -Descending | Select-Object -First 10` to list recent security updates, or check Windows Update history.
    Affected if No security update for CVE-2025-53801 is listed among installed updates, and the Windows version remains in the affected range.

You are affected if your Windows build version is below the fixed thresholds AND the CVE-2025-53801 security update is not installed on a system where the DWM process is running.

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 10.0.10240.21128 / 10.0.14393.8422 / 10.0.17763.7792 or later
Fixed in 10.0.10240.2112810.0.14393.842210.0.17763.7792
Interim mitigation

Apply Microsoft security updates for CVE-2025-53801 once released. Validate that Windows Update is functional and that patches are deployed across affected endpoints. Until a patch is available, limit local user access and monitor for suspicious DWM process behavior.

Recommended fix High confidence

Apply Microsoft security update KB containing CVE-2025-53801; target builds: Windows 10 1507 >= 10.0.10240.21128, Win 10 1607/Win Server 2016 >= 10.0.14393.8422, Win 10 1809 >= 10.0.17763.7792, Win 10 21h2 >= 10.0.19044.6332, Win 10 22h2 >= 10.0.19045.6332, Win 11 22h2 >= 10.0.22621.5909, Win 11 23h

  1. Identify the installed Windows version by running 'winver' or 'systeminfo'
  2. Open Settings > Windows Update > Check for updates
  3. Install all pending Windows security updates, particularly the update containing the CVE-2025-53801 fix
  4. Alternatively, manually download and install the specific KB patch for your Windows version from the Microsoft Update Catalog
  5. Restart the system after applying the update
  6. Verify the installed build number matches or exceeds the fixed version for your Windows release (e.g., Windows 10 22h2 should be >= 10.0.19045.6332)
Caveat Standard Windows security update; no expected breaking changes for this privilege escalation patch

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

Fix this in Windows 10 1507 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,840
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,144.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-53801 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2025-53801 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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