dbcve.org
Windows 10 1607Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2026-25190

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 →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Untrusted search path in Windows GDI allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code 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

Untrusted search path vulnerability in Windows GDI (Graphics Device Interface) allows a local attacker to execute arbitrary code by placing malicious DLLs or resources in directories that GDI searches during operation, bypassing normal security boundaries.

MitigationApply Microsoft security patches for Windows GDI component; as a compensating control, restrict write permissions on directories in the Windows search path to prevent unauthorized DLL/resource placement.

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
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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. Check Windows build number
    Open Command Prompt and run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to get the exact Windows build number
    Affected if The build number is below any of these thresholds: 14393.8957 (Windows 10 1607), 17763.8511 (Windows 10 1809), 19044.7058 (Windows 10 21h2), 19045.7058 (Windows 10 22h2), 22631.6783 (Windows 11 23h2), 26100.7979 (Windows 11 24h2), 26200.7979 (Windows 11 25h2), or 28000.1719 (Windows 11 26h1)
  2. Verify GDI component version via registry
    Check the GDI version in registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion or run 'Get-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion" | Select-Object CurrentBuild, DisplayVersion, UBR' in PowerShell
    Affected if The CurrentBuild and UBR combined version falls below the affected build numbers listed above for your Windows release
  3. Confirm GDI is in use
    Verify the Windows GDI subsystem is active by checking for gdi32.dll in system32 or running 'tasklist /m gdi32.dll' to confirm GDI components are loaded
    Affected if The GDI DLL is present and loaded, which is default for any Windows desktop session - combined with a vulnerable version, this means the system is affected

You are affected if your Windows build number is lower than the threshold for your specific Windows release (10.0.14393.8957 through 10.0.28000.1719 depending on version) and GDI is in use, which is the default state for Windows desktop environments.

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 Microsoft security patches for Windows GDI component; as a compensating control, restrict write permissions on directories in the Windows search path to prevent unauthorized DLL/resource placement.

Recommended fix High confidence

Install the latest Windows cumulative security updates; minimum fixed builds: 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 2

  1. 1. Identify the current Windows version and build by running 'winver' or checking System Information
  2. 2. Determine which Windows 10 or 11 version is installed from the supported list (1607, 1809, 21h2, 22h2, 23h2, 24h2, 25h2, or 26h1)
  3. 3. Open Windows Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update
  4. 4. Click 'Check for updates' to retrieve the latest security patches
  5. 5. Install all cumulative updates and restart the system when prompted
  6. 6. Verify the installed build meets or exceeds the minimum fixed version for your Windows release
Caveat Standard Windows update process with minimal risk; ensure backups of critical data before applying updates as a best practice

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

Fix this in Windows 10 1607 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
Get the upgrade done

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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-25190 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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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-2026-25190 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