CVE-2025-55688
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 · uneditedUse 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 · high confidenceA use-after-free vulnerability exists in Windows PrintWorkflowUserSvc where memory is accessed after it has been freed, allowing a locally authenticated attacker to elevate privileges to SYSTEM or administrator level.
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< 10.0.26100.6899< 10.0.26200.6899< 10.0.26100.6899CVSS 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 Windows build numberRun 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to get the exact build versionAffected if Build is less than 10.0.26100.6899 for 24h2/Server 2025, or less than 10.0.26200.6899 for 25h2
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Verify PrintWorkflowUserSvc statusRun 'Get-Service PrintWorkflowUserSvc' in PowerShell to check if the service exists and its current stateAffected if Service is present and running on an affected Windows version
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Confirm service is enabled for auto-startRun 'sc qc PrintWorkflowUserSvc' to query the service configuration and check START_TYPEAffected if Service is set to auto-start (START_TYPE = 2) on an affected Windows build
User is affected if running Windows 11 24h2/Server 2025 below build 26100.6899 or Windows 11 25h2 below build 26200.6899 AND the PrintWorkflowUserSvc is present and running.
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 · scoped10.0.26100.689910.0.26200.6899
Apply the relevant Microsoft security patch when released. If the PrintWorkflowUserSvc is not required in the environment, consider disabling it as a defensive measure until the patch can be applied.
Windows 11 24h2 build 10.0.26100.6899 or later; Windows 11 25h2 build 10.0.26200.6899 or later; Windows Server 2025 build 10.0.26100.6899 or later
- Open Windows Settings and navigate to Update & Security > Windows Update
- Click 'Check for updates' to download and install the latest security updates
- Alternatively, manually download and install the relevant KB from the Microsoft Update Catalog (search for the KB number corresponding to CVE-2025-55688)
- Restart the system after applying the update
- Verify the build version matches or exceeds 10.0.26100.6899 for Windows 11 24h2/Server 2025, or 10.0.26200.6899 for Windows 11 25h2 by running 'winver'
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-55688 — 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-2025-55688 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data