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Windows 10 21h2Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2025-55685

HIGH · 7.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-10-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.19044.6456 / 10.0.19045.6456 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 PrintWorkflowUserSvc 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 Windows PrintWorkflowUserSvc where the service fails to properly manage memory lifecycle, allowing an attacker who already has local access to free memory and then access it after it has been freed, leading to privilege escalation from their current authorization level to SYSTEM or equivalent privileges.

MitigationApply the latest Windows security updates from Microsoft KB. Until patched, limit local access to untrusted users and monitor for suspicious processes interacting with the PrintWorkflowUserSvc.

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 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 2022Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.20348.4294
Windows Server 2022 23h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.25398.1913

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. Check Windows version number
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to get the exact Windows build number
    Affected if The build number falls below the patched versions (19044.6456, 19045.6456, 22621.6060, 22631.6060, 26100.6899, 26200.6899, 20348.4294, 25398.1913 depending on your Windows edition)
  2. Confirm PrintWorkflowUserSvc exists
    Run 'Get-Service PrintWorkflowUserSvc' in PowerShell or check Services.msc for 'PrintWorkflowUserSvc'
    Affected if The service exists on the system (it is present by default in affected Windows versions)
  3. Verify service status
    Run 'Get-Service PrintWorkflowUserSvc | Select-Object Status, StartType' in PowerShell
    Affected if The service is running (even if stopped, the vulnerable code is present in unpatched installations)
  4. Check installed Windows security updates
    Run 'Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.Description -like "Security Update"} | Sort-Object InstalledOn -Descending | Select-Object -First 5' to list recent security patches
    Affected if The most recent security update predates the patch date for this CVE, or no relevant update is installed

You are affected if your Windows build number is lower than the version thresholds listed and the PrintWorkflowUserSvc service is present 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 10.0.19044.6456 / 10.0.19045.6456 / 10.0.20348.4294 or later
Fixed in 10.0.19044.645610.0.19045.645610.0.20348.4294
Interim mitigation

Apply the latest Windows security updates from Microsoft KB. Until patched, limit local access to untrusted users and monitor for suspicious processes interacting with the PrintWorkflowUserSvc.

Recommended fix High confidence

Windows 10 21h2: Build 10.0.19044.6456 or later | Windows 10 22h2: Build 10.0.19045.6456 or later | Windows 11 22h2: Build 10.0.22621.6060 or later | Windows 11 23h2: Build 10.0.22631.6060 or later | Windows 11 24h2: Build 10.0.26100.6899 or later | Windows 11 25h2: Build 10.0.26200.6899 or later |

  1. 1. Identify the current Windows version by running `winver` or `systeminfo` in Command Prompt
  2. 2. Determine the appropriate update based on your Windows version from the fixed version list
  3. 3. Open Settings > Windows Update and check for updates, or manually download and install the corresponding Cumulative Update from the Microsoft Update Catalog (https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com)
  4. 4. For enterprise environments, deploy the update via Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) or Group Policy
  5. 5. Restart the system when prompted to complete the installation
  6. 6. Verify the fix by confirming the Windows build number matches or exceeds the fixed version for your release
Caveat Standard Windows cumulative update with no expected breaking changes; as a local privilege escalation fix, applying the security update is strongly recommended

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

Fix this in Windows 10 21h2 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
25.0 hours of engineering $4,400
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,040.

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-2025-55685 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