dbcve.org
Windows 10 1809Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2026-20924

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-01-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.17763.8276 / 10.0.19044.6809 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
Use after free in Windows Management Services allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.

In the news

Third-party coverage
Trending covered by 1 outlet this week · latest 7mo ago

Surfaced from public web coverage — external links open in a new tab.

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 in Windows Management Services enables a local authenticated attacker to corrupt memory and elevate privileges to higher integrity levels by exploiting improper memory handling after objects are freed.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates for Windows Management Services when released; until then, limit local user permissions and monitor for suspicious WMI/mgmt service activity.

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 1809Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.17763.8276
Windows 10 21h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19044.6809
Windows 10 22h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19045.6809
Windows 11 23h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.22631.6491
Windows 11 24h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.26100.7623
Windows 11 25h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.26200.7623
Windows Server 2019Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.17763.8276
Windows Server 2022Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.20348.4648

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
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/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 build version
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo' from command prompt and note the Build number displayed
    Affected if The build number falls below the version thresholds: 17763.8276 (1809/Server 2019), 19044.6809 (21h2), 19045.6809 (22h2), 22631.6491 (23h2), 26100.7623 (24h2), 26200.7623 (25h2), or 20348.4648 (Server 2022)
  2. Verify Windows Management Instrumentation service status
    Run 'sc query Winmgmt' from command prompt to check if the WMI service is running
    Affected if The service state shows as RUNNING - the vulnerability only applies when this service is active
  3. Confirm WMI repository integrity
    Run 'winmgmt /verifyrepository' to check for repository corruption
    Affected if The repository reports as inconsistent or corrupted, which may indicate exploitation activity
  4. Check for unexpected WMI consumer objects
    Run 'Get-WmiObject -Namespace root\subscription -Class __EventConsumer' in PowerShell with admin rights to list WMI consumers
    Affected if Unknown or suspicious consumer objects exist that were not intentionally created

You are affected if your Windows build number is below the specified thresholds AND the Windows Management Instrumentation (Winmgmt) service is running 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 10.0.17763.8276 / 10.0.19044.6809 / 10.0.19045.6809 or later
Fixed in 10.0.17763.827610.0.19044.680910.0.19045.6809
Interim mitigation

Apply Microsoft security updates for Windows Management Services when released; until then, limit local user permissions and monitor for suspicious WMI/mgmt service activity.

Recommended fix High confidence

Windows 10 1809: 10.0.17763.8276+ | Windows 10 21h2: 10.0.19044.6809+ | Windows 10 22h2: 10.0.19045.6809+ | Windows 11 23h2: 10.0.22631.6491+ | Windows 11 24h2: 10.0.26100.7623+ | Windows 11 25h2: 10.0.26200.7623+ | Windows Server 2019: 10.0.17763.8276+ | Windows Server 2022: 10.0.20348.4648+

  1. Identify the current Windows build version by running 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"'
  2. Determine which Windows version and build is installed (e.g., Windows 10 22h2, Windows 11 23h2, Windows Server 2022)
  3. For Windows 10 1809: Upgrade to build 10.0.17763.8276 or later via Windows Update or by installing KB5055523
  4. For Windows 10 21h2: Upgrade to build 10.0.19044.6809 or later via Windows Update or by installing KB5055539
  5. For Windows 10 22h2: Upgrade to build 10.0.19045.6809 or later via Windows Update or by installing KB5055540
  6. For Windows 11 23h2: Upgrade to build 10.0.22631.6491 or later via Windows Update or by installing KB5055525
  7. For Windows 11 24h2: Upgrade to build 10.0.26100.7623 or later via Windows Update or by installing KB5055537
  8. For Windows 11 25h2: Upgrade to build 10.0.26200.7623 or later via Windows Update
Caveat Standard Windows update; may require restart. Ensure compatibility with line-of-business applications before deploying broadly in enterprise environments.

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

Fix this in Windows 10 1809 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,900
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2026-20924 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