dbcve.org
Windows 10 1607Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2026-23673

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-03-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.14393.8957 / 10.0.17763.8511 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
Out-of-bounds read in Windows Resilient File System (ReFS) 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

An out-of-bounds read vulnerability exists in Windows Resilient File System (ReFS) that allows a locally authorized attacker to read sensitive memory contents beyond allocated buffers, potentially facilitating local privilege escalation to higher integrity levels.

MitigationApply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2026-23673 via Windows Update or enterprise patch management systems; prioritize systems using ReFS formatting.

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:< 10.0.14393.8957
Windows 10 1809Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.17763.8511
Windows 10 21h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19044.7058
Windows 10 22h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19045.7058
Windows 11 23h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.22631.6783
Windows 11 24h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.26100.7979
Windows 11 25h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.26200.7979
Windows 11 26h1Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.28000.1719

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. Check Windows version against affected ranges
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Version"' to obtain the installed Windows build number. Compare this to the affected version thresholds: Windows 10 1607 (build < 14393.8957), Windows 10 1809 (build < 17763.8511), Windows 10 21h2 (build < 19044.7058), Windows 10 22h2 (build < 19045.7058), Windows 11 23h2 (build < 22631.6783), Windows 11 24h2 (build < 26100.7979), Windows 11 25h2 (build < 26200.7979), Windows 11 26h1 (build < 28000.1719).
    Affected if The installed Windows build number falls below the corresponding threshold for the detected Windows version branch.
  2. Identify ReFS-formatted volumes
    For each drive letter (C:, D:, etc.), run 'fsutil fsinfo volumeinfo <driveletter>' and examine the output for 'File System Name : ReFS'. Alternatively, run 'Get-Volume | Select-Object DriveLetter, FileSystem' in PowerShell to list all volumes and their filesystem types.
    Affected if Any volume on the system is formatted with the ReFS filesystem.
  3. Verify ReFS driver is loaded
    Open Device Manager, expand 'Storage volumes', or run 'driverquery /v | findstr refs' from an elevated command prompt to check if the refs.sys driver is present and loaded on the system.
    Affected if The ReFS driver (refs.sys) is present and loaded on the system.

The system is vulnerable if it runs an affected Windows version AND has ReFS formatted volumes or the ReFS driver loaded, since the out-of-bounds read only manifests when ReFS is actively in use.

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 10.0.14393.8957 / 10.0.17763.8511 / 10.0.19044.7058 or later
Fixed in 10.0.14393.895710.0.17763.851110.0.19044.7058
Interim mitigation

Apply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2026-23673 via Windows Update or enterprise patch management systems; prioritize systems using ReFS formatting.

Recommended fix High confidence

Windows 10 1607 to build 10.0.14393.8957 or later | Windows 10 1809 to build 10.0.17763.8511 or later | Windows 10 21h2 to build 10.0.19044.7058 or later | Windows 10 22h2 to build 10.0.19045.7058 or later | Windows 11 23h2 to build 10.0.22631.6783 or later | Windows 11 24h2 to build 10.0.26100.7979

  1. Identify the current Windows version by running 'winver' or 'systeminfo' in Command Prompt
  2. Determine which Windows 10 or 11 version branch you are running (e.g., 1607, 1809, 21h2, 22h2) or Windows 11 version (23h2, 24h2, 25h2, 26h1)
  3. Open Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update
  4. Click 'Check for updates' to download and install the latest cumulative update
  5. Ensure the installed build number meets or exceeds the minimum fixed version for your branch: Windows 10 1607: 10.0.14393.8957 | Windows 10 1809: 10.0.17763.8511 | Windows 10 21h2: 10.0.19044.7058 | Windows 10 22h2: 10.0.19045.7058 | Windows 11 23h2: 10.0.22631.6783 | Windows 11 24h2: 10.0.26100.7979 | Windows 11 25h2: 10.0.26200.7979 | Windows 11 26h1: 10.0.28000.1719
  6. Restart the system when prompted to complete the update installation
  7. Verify the update was successfully installed by checking Windows Update history or running 'winver' again
Caveat Standard Windows cumulative update; may require system restart; ensure adequate backup and testing in non-production environments before deploying organization-wide

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

Fix this in Windows 10 1607 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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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-2026-23673 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