dbcve.org
Windows 10 1607Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2026-32073

HIGH · 7.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-04-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.14393.9060 / 10.0.17763.8644 or later.
See remediation →
72/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock 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

Use after free vulnerability in the Windows Ancillary Function Driver (afd.sys) for Winsock allows a local authenticated attacker to achieve privilege escalation by exploiting freed kernel memory.

MitigationApply the relevant Microsoft security update for this vulnerability; as immediate workarounds, limit local access to trusted users and monitor for suspicious kernel-level process 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 1607Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.14393.9060
Windows 10 1809Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.17763.8644
Windows 10 21h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19044.7184
Windows 10 22h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19045.7184
Windows 11 23h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.22631.6936
Windows 11 24h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.26100.8246
Windows 11 25h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.26200.8246
Windows 11 26h1Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.28000.1836

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
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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 build number
    Open Command Prompt or PowerShell and run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to retrieve the installed Windows version and build number
    Affected if The build number falls below any of these thresholds: 14393.9060 (1607), 17763.8644 (1809), 19044.7184 (21h2), 19045.7184 (22h2), 22631.6936 (23h2), 26100.8246 (24h2), 26200.8246 (25h2), 28000.1836 (26h1)
  2. Confirm AFD driver presence
    Run 'driverquery /v | findstr afd' or check C:\Windows\System32\drivers\afd.sys existence. The driver is part of Windows Sockets (Winsock) implementation
    Affected if The afd.sys driver exists on the system (this is true for all affected systems)
  3. Identify Windows edition
    Run 'systeminfo' or 'winver' to confirm if the system is Windows 10 or Windows 11, and which specific release (such as 1607, 1809, 21h2, 22h2, 23h2, 24h2, 25h2, or 26h1)
    Affected if The system runs any of the listed Windows 10 or 11 releases with a build number below the corresponding threshold

The system is affected if it runs any of the listed Windows 10 or 11 versions with a build number lower than the specified threshold for that release, and the attacker has local authenticated access to attempt exploitation.

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 10.0.14393.9060 / 10.0.17763.8644 / 10.0.19044.7184 or later
Fixed in 10.0.14393.906010.0.17763.864410.0.19044.7184
Interim mitigation

Apply the relevant Microsoft security update for this vulnerability; as immediate workarounds, limit local access to trusted users and monitor for suspicious kernel-level process activity.

Recommended fix High confidence

Apply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2026-32073. Specific fixed builds: Windows 10 1607 → 10.0.14393.9060 | Windows 10 1809 → 10.0.17763.8644 | Windows 10 21h2 → 10.0.19044.7184 | Windows 10 22h2 → 10.0.19045.7184 | Windows 11 23h2 → 10.0.22631.6936 | Windows 11 24h2 → 10.0.26100.8246 | Windo

  1. Open Windows Settings and navigate to Update & Security > Windows Update
  2. Click 'Check for updates' to scan for available security updates
  3. Install any pending security updates, specifically looking for the patch addressing the Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock vulnerability (CVE-2026-32073)
  4. After installation, restart the system to ensure the driver update takes effect
  5. Alternatively, manually download the specific security update from the Microsoft Update Catalog matching your Windows version and build number
  6. Verify the update was installed by checking Windows Update history or running 'winver' to confirm the build number matches or exceeds the fixed version for your Windows release
Caveat Standard Windows security update with no expected breaking changes; however, test in non-production environments if concerned about driver compatibility

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
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-32073 — 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-2026-32073 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