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Windows 10 21h2Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2026-32155

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-04-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.19044.7184 / 10.0.19045.7184 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 Desktop Window Manager 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 · high confidence

Use After Free (UAF) memory corruption vulnerability in Windows Desktop Window Manager (dwm.exe) allows a locally authorized attacker to achieve arbitrary code execution with elevated (SYSTEM) privileges by exploiting a dangling pointer condition after memory deallocation.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates for CVE-2026-32155 via Windows Update or WSUS; prioritize patching of workstations and servers given the local privilege escalation vector and HIGH severity rating.

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 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 Server 2022Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.20348.5020
Windows Server 2022 23h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.25398.2274
Windows Server 2025Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.26100.32690

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 build version
    Open Command Prompt and run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Version"' to display the full build number
    Affected if The build number falls within the affected ranges: <10.0.19044.7184 (Win10 21h2), <10.0.19045.7184 (Win10 22h2), <10.0.22631.6936 (Win11 23h2), <10.0.26100.8246 (Win11 24h2), <10.0.26200.8246 (Win11 25h2), <10.0.20348.5020 (Server 2022), <10.0.25398.2274 (Server 2022 23h2), or <10.0.26100.32690 (Ser
  2. Verify dwm.exe file version
    Right-click C:\Windows\System32\dwm.exe, select Properties, and view the File version field, or run 'wmic datafile where name="C:\\Windows\\System32\\dwm.exe" get Version'
    Affected if The dwm.exe version is earlier than the fixed builds corresponding to your Windows version (the specific dwm.exe build should match or exceed the OS build thresholds listed above)
  3. Confirm Desktop Window Manager is running
    Open Task Manager, go to the Details tab, and look for dwm.exe under the Name column, or run 'tasklist /FI "IMAGENAME eq dwm.exe"' in Command Prompt
    Affected if dwm.exe is present and running (the vulnerability only applies when this process is active, as the UAF occurs within its memory space)

You are affected if your Windows build number is lower than the fixed threshold for your specific version AND dwm.exe is actively running on the 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 10.0.19044.7184 / 10.0.19045.7184 / 10.0.20348.5020 or later
Fixed in 10.0.19044.718410.0.19045.718410.0.20348.5020
Interim mitigation

Apply Microsoft security updates for CVE-2026-32155 via Windows Update or WSUS; prioritize patching of workstations and servers given the local privilege escalation vector and HIGH severity rating.

Recommended fix High confidence

Windows 10 21h2: 10.0.19044.7184 or later | Windows 10 22h2: 10.0.19045.7184 or later | Windows 11 23h2: 10.0.22631.6936 or later | Windows 11 24h2: 10.0.26100.8246 or later | Windows 11 25h2: 10.0.26200.8246 or later | Windows Server 2022: 10.0.20348.5020 or later | Windows Server 2022 23h2: 10.0.2

  1. Open Windows Update Settings (Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update)
  2. Click 'Check for updates' to download and install the latest security updates
  3. After installation, restart the system to complete the patch
  4. Verify the Desktop Window Manager (dwm.exe) version matches or exceeds the fixed build number for your Windows version
Caveat None expected - this is a security-only cumulative update; ensure regular backups and testing in non-production environments before broad deployment

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

Fix this in Windows 10 21h2 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2026-32155 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