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Windows 10 1607Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2025-59505

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-11-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.14393.8594 / 10.0.17763.8027 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
Double free in Windows Smart Card 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 double-free memory corruption vulnerability exists in the Windows Smart Card component. The flaw allows a locally authenticated attacker to exploit improper memory handling in the Smart Card subsystem, leading to privilege elevation from their current authorized user context to higher system privileges.

MitigationApply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2025-59505 via Windows Update or enterprise patch management to address the double-free vulnerability in the Windows Smart Card service.

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 1607Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.14393.8594
Windows 10 1809Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.17763.8027
Windows 10 21h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19044.6575
Windows 10 22h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19045.6575
Windows 11 23h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.22631.6199
Windows 11 24h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.26100.7092
Windows 11 25h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.26200.7092
Windows Server 2012Operating system
Affected:all versions= r2

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. Identify Windows version and build number
    Open Command Prompt and run: winver OR systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version" /C:"Build Number". Compare the build number (e.g., 14393, 17763, 19044, 19045, 22631, 26100, 26200) against the affected version ranges listed in the CVE.
    Affected if The installed Windows build number is lower than the fixed version for your Windows release (e.g., below 14393.8594 for Windows 10 1607, below 17763.8027 for Windows 10 1809, etc.).
  2. Verify Smart Card service status
    Open Services (services.msc) and locate the Smart Card service, or run: sc query scardsvr. Also check: sc queryex type= service state= all | findstr /i "smart card"
    Affected if The Smart Card service (scardsvr) is installed and available on the system - the vulnerability exists in this component regardless of whether it is currently running.
  3. Check for Smart Card device enumeration
    Open Device Manager (devmgmt.msc) and look under "Smart card readers" category, or run: certutil -scinfo to enumerate smart card readers. Also check: sc enumdependents scardsvr
    Affected if Smart Card device enumeration (ScDeviceEnum) is present on the system - this is the specific subsystem containing the double-free vulnerability.
  4. Identify installed security updates
    Run: wmic qfe list brief /format:table or go to Settings > Windows Update > Update history and look for the security update containing CVE-2025-59505.
    Affected if The specific KB update addressing CVE-2025-59505 is NOT installed - the system remains vulnerable.

A system is affected if it runs a Windows version within the affected build ranges AND has the Smart Card subsystem (ScDeviceEnum) present, AND the corresponding CVE-2025-59505 security patch has not been applied.

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 10.0.14393.8594 / 10.0.17763.8027 / 10.0.19044.6575 or later
Fixed in 10.0.14393.859410.0.17763.802710.0.19044.6575
Interim mitigation

Apply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2025-59505 via Windows Update or enterprise patch management to address the double-free vulnerability in the Windows Smart Card service.

Recommended fix High confidence

Apply May 2025 Windows Security Update (KB50XXXX) from Microsoft Update - the specific KB varies by Windows version

  1. Open Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update
  2. Click 'Check for updates' to download and install the latest security updates
  3. Alternatively, manually install the applicable KB from Microsoft Update Catalog for your specific Windows version
  4. After installation, restart the system to apply the patch
  5. Verify the patch was applied by checking Windows version matches or exceeds: Windows 10 1607: 10.0.14393.8594, Windows 10 1809: 10.0.17763.8027, Windows 10 21h2: 10.0.19044.6575, Windows 10 22h2: 10.0.19045.6575, Windows 11 23h2: 10.0.22631.6199, Windows 11 24h2: 10.0.26100.7092, Windows 11 25h2: 10.0.26200.7092
Caveat Standard Windows security update with no expected breaking changes; test in staging if in production environment

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

Fix this in Windows 10 1607 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
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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-2025-59505 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