Windows Subsystem For LinuxApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2025-62220

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-11-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.6.2 or later.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges

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
Heap-based buffer overflow in Windows Subsystem for Linux GUI allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code over a network.

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 heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) GUI component. This memory corruption flaw allows an unauthenticated attacker to achieve remote code execution by sending specially crafted network traffic to exploit the overflow, potentially giving them execution privileges on the affected system.

MitigationApply Microsoft security patches for Windows Subsystem for Linux as they become available. Ensure WSL instances are updated to the latest version and consider network segmentation to limit exposure to untrusted networks until the patch is applied.

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 Subsystem For LinuxApplication
Affected:< 2.6.2

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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. Verify WSL is installed
    Run 'wsl --version' or 'wsl -l -v' in Command Prompt or PowerShell to list installed WSL instances and their versions
    Affected if WSL is installed and the version shown is lower than 2.6.2
  2. Check WSL kernel version
    Run 'wsl cat /proc/version' inside a WSL distribution to view the kernel version, or check via 'wsl --status'
    Affected if The kernel version corresponds to a WSL release earlier than 2.6.2
  3. Confirm GUI component is in use
    Determine if WSLg (Windows Subsystem for Linux GUI) is enabled by checking for the presence of wslg.exe process or by verifying GUI applications can launch from WSL
    Affected if The WSL GUI feature (WSLg) is enabled and being used on the system
  4. Assess network exposure
    Review firewall rules and network configuration to determine if the WSL VM network interfaces are accessible from untrusted or external networks
    Affected if WSL network interfaces are exposed to untrusted networks, allowing external attackers to reach the vulnerable component

You are affected if WSL with GUI support (WSLg) is installed with a version lower than 2.6.2 and the system is network-accessible to untrusted parties.

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 2.6.2 or later
Fixed in 2.6.2
Interim mitigation

Apply Microsoft security patches for Windows Subsystem for Linux as they become available. Ensure WSL instances are updated to the latest version and consider network segmentation to limit exposure to untrusted networks until the patch is applied.

Recommended fix High confidence

Windows Subsystem for Linux version 2.6.2 or later

  1. Open PowerShell or Command Prompt as Administrator
  2. Run 'wsl --version' to check the current WSL version
  3. Run 'wsl --update' to update WSL to the latest version
  4. Run 'wsl --version' again to confirm the update to version 2.6.2 or later
  5. If automatic update doesn't work, run 'wsl --install' to perform a clean installation of the latest WSL version
Caveat WSL 2.6.2 is a minor update; ensure host Windows system meets minimum requirements (typically Windows 10 version 1903 or later)

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

Fix this in Windows Subsystem For Linux Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,300
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,680.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-62220 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-62220 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