dbcve.org
Windows 10 1809Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2025-55681

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-10-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.17763.7919 / 10.0.19044.6456 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
Out-of-bounds read 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

An out-of-bounds read vulnerability in the Windows Desktop Window Manager (DWM) allows a local authenticated attacker to read sensitive memory contents and elevate privileges to higher integrity levels.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates for this vulnerability once released; prioritize patching workstations and servers as the vulnerability allows 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
Windows 10 1809Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.17763.7919
Windows 10 21h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19044.6456
Windows 10 22h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19045.6456
Windows 11 22h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.22621.6060
Windows 11 23h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.22631.6060
Windows 11 24h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.26100.6899
Windows 11 25h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.26200.6899
Windows Server 2019Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.17763.7919

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 number
    Open Command Prompt or PowerShell and run 'winver' to see the full OS build, or run 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' for a text-based output
    Affected if The build number shown is lower than any of the following: 17763.7919 (Win 10 1809/Server 2019), 19044.6456 (Win 10 21h2), 19045.6456 (Win 10 22h2), 22621.6060 (Win 11 22h2), 22631.6060 (Win 11 23h2), 26100.6899 (Win 11 24h2), or 26200.6899 (Win 11 25h2)
  2. Confirm DWM process is running
    In PowerShell, run 'Get-Process -Name dwm -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue' to verify the Desktop Window Manager process is active
    Affected if The DWM process is running (this is the vulnerable component; the flaw cannot be exploited if DWM is not running)
  3. Verify exact OS version via PowerShell
    Run '[System.Environment]::OSVersion.Version' in PowerShell to get the exact version number in Major.Minor.Build format
    Affected if The returned version string shows a build number lower than the thresholds listed in step 1 for your specific Windows release

You are affected if your Windows build number is lower than the thresholds for your Windows version AND the DWM process is running on your system.

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 10.0.17763.7919 / 10.0.19044.6456 / 10.0.19045.6456 or later
Fixed in 10.0.17763.791910.0.19044.645610.0.19045.6456
Interim mitigation

Apply Microsoft security updates for this vulnerability once released; prioritize patching workstations and servers as the vulnerability allows local privilege escalation.

Recommended fix High confidence

Install the Microsoft security update for CVE-2025-55681 via Windows Update ( KB5055523 or subsequent relevant patch)

  1. Open Settings on the Windows system
  2. Navigate to Windows Update (Update & Security > Windows Update)
  3. Click 'Check for updates' to download and install the latest security updates
  4. Restart the system when prompted to complete the installation
  5. Verify the installed build number matches or exceeds the fixed version for your Windows edition (e.g., win10 1809: 10.0.17763.7919, win11 23h2: 10.0.22631.6060)
Caveat Standard Windows security patch with no expected breaking changes; as with any system update, test critical applications after deployment

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

Fix this in Windows 10 1809 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.

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-2025-55681 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