CVE-2025-59198
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 · uneditedImproper input validation in Microsoft Windows Search Component allows an authorized attacker to deny service 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 confidenceImproper input validation in the Windows Search Component allows a locally authenticated attacker to crash the search service, causing denial of service. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of input data processed by the search indexing component.
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< 10.0.10240.21161< 10.0.14393.8519< 10.0.17763.7919< 10.0.19044.6456< 10.0.19045.6456< 10.0.22621.6060< 10.0.22631.6060< 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
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/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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Identify your Windows version and build numberRun 'winver' from the Start menu or execute 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' in Command Prompt. Note the full build number (e.g., 10.0.19045.xxxx).Affected if The build number is lower than any of these thresholds: 10240.21161 (1507), 14393.8519 (1607), 17763.7919 (1809), 19044.6456 (21h2), 19045.6456 (22h2), 22621.6060 (11 22h2), 22631.6060 (11 23h2), or 26100.6899 (11 24h2).
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Verify Windows Search service is enabledOpen Services (services.msc), locate 'Windows Search', and check its Status. Alternatively, run 'Get-Service -Name WSearch' in PowerShell.Affected if The service is Running or set to Automatic start, meaning the vulnerable component is active on the system.
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Determine the SearchIndexer.exe file versionNavigate to C:\Windows\System32\SearchIndexer.exe, right-click, select Properties, and view the File version on the Details tab. Or run '(Get-Item C:\Windows\System32\SearchIndexer.exe).VersionInfo.FileVersion' in PowerShell.Affected if The file version is lower than the corresponding build threshold for your Windows version as listed in the affected versions.
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Review event logs for Search service crashesOpen Event Viewer, navigate to Windows Logs > Application, and filter for Event Source 'Windows Search Service' or events with ID 1000 (Application Error) mentioning SearchIndexer.exe within the last 30 days.Affected if Recent crash events related to SearchIndexer.exe appear in the logs, indicating possible exploitation of this vulnerability.
A user is affected if they are running a Windows version with a build number lower than the threshold for their specific Windows release AND the Windows Search service is enabled on their system.
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 · scoped10.0.10240.2116110.0.14393.851910.0.17763.7919
Apply Microsoft security updates for Windows when released. As a defensive measure, monitor Windows Search service status and restart the service if crashes occur.
Apply the relevant Windows cumulative security update for your specific Windows version (10/11 1507-24h2) containing the fix for CVE-2025-59198
- Identify the current Windows version by running 'winver' or 'systeminfo' in Command Prompt
- Determine which version range applies to your system from the affected versions list
- Apply the appropriate Windows cumulative security update (KB article from Microsoft's Security Update Guide) that corresponds to your Windows version
- Verify the update was installed successfully by checking Windows Update history or running 'winver' to confirm the build number matches the fixed version: 10.0.10240.21161 (1507), 10.0.14393.8519 (1607), 10.0.17763.7919 (1809), 10.0.19044.6456 (21h2), 10.0.19045.6456 (22h2), 10.0.22621.6060 (11 22h2), 10.0.22631.6060 (11 23h2), or 10.0.26100.6899 (11 24h2)
- Restart the system if prompted to complete the update installation
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-59198 — 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-2025-59198 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
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