dbcve.org
Windows 10 1507Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2025-54918

HIGH · 8.8 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 →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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
Improper authentication in Windows NTLM allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges over a network.

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 in Windows NTLM (NT LAN Manager) authentication allows an attacker with existing network access to elevate their privileges beyond their current authorization level. NTLM is a legacy Microsoft authentication protocol, and this improper authentication flaw permits privilege escalation attacks over the network.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates for this vulnerability immediately. Additionally, audit NTLM usage across the environment and consider restricting or disabling NTLM in favor of Kerberos where possible, while implementing NTLM auditing and network protection measures.

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 11 24h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.26100.6508

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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. Identify the installed Windows version
    Run 'winver' from the Run dialog or execute 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' in Command Prompt. Alternatively, check the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion at value 'CurrentBuild' and 'CurrentBuildNumber'.
    Affected if The installed version is lower than the fixed version for your specific Windows release (e.g., below 10.0.19045.6332 for Windows 10 22h2).
  2. Determine the exact build number
    Execute 'winver' or run 'Get-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion" | Select-Object CurrentBuild, CurrentBuildNumber, DisplayVersion' in PowerShell.
    Affected if The build number returned is less than the threshold for your Windows edition as listed in the affected versions.
  3. Verify NTLM authentication is enabled
    Check registry key HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa for values 'LmCompatibilityLevel', 'NoLMHash', and 'LmAnnounce'. Alternatively, run 'netlogon' query or check Local Security Policy under Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options for 'Network security: LAN Manager authentication level'.
    Affected if NTLMv1 or NTLMv2 authentication is permitted (LmCompatibilityLevel set to 0, 1, 2, or 3) rather than being restricted to only Kerberos.
  4. Inspect NTLM outbound authentication settings
    Review the registry key HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Netlogon\Parameters for 'RequireStrongKey' and 'SecureChannelType', or run 'nltest /domain_trust /verbose' to check trust relationships and NTLM usage.
    Affected if NTLM is allowed for outbound authentication to remote resources without strong key requirements.

The environment is affected if the Windows version is below the fixed build number for your Windows release AND NTLM authentication is enabled in the system configuration.

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 this vulnerability immediately. Additionally, audit NTLM usage across the environment and consider restricting or disabling NTLM in favor of Kerberos where possible, while implementing NTLM auditing and network protection measures.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to the latest cumulative security update; minimum fixed builds are 10.0.10240.21128 (Win10 1507), 10.0.14393.8422 (Win10 1607), 10.0.17763.7792 (Win10 1809), 10.0.19044.6332 (Win10 21h2), 10.0.19045.6332 (Win10 22h2), 10.0.22621.5909 (Win11 22h2), 10.0.22631.5909 (Win11 23h2), 10.0.26100.650

  1. Identify the current Windows version and build by running 'winver' or 'systeminfo'
  2. Determine which Windows 10 or 11 version/edition is running from the affected versions list
  3. Apply the latest cumulative security update for the installed Windows version
  4. For Windows 10 1507: Upgrade to build 10.0.10240.21128 or later
  5. For Windows 10 1607: Upgrade to build 10.0.14393.8422 or later
  6. For Windows 10 1809: Upgrade to build 10.0.17763.7792 or later
  7. For Windows 10 21h2: Upgrade to build 10.0.19044.6332 or later
  8. For Windows 10 22h2: Upgrade to build 10.0.19045.6332 or later
Caveat Standard Windows update risks - updates may require restart and could have compatibility impact with legacy applications

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

Fix this in Windows 10 1507 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
36.0 hours of engineering $6,400
Get the upgrade done

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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2025-54918 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