Windows 11 24h2Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2026-32221

HIGH · 8.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-04-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.26100.8246 / 10.0.26100.32690 or later.
See remediation →
89/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges 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
Heap-based buffer overflow in Microsoft Graphics Component 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

Heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in Microsoft Graphics Component enabling local code execution by an unauthorized attacker. This is a memory corruption vulnerability in Windows graphics rendering subsystems that could allow privilege escalation or arbitrary code execution.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates for affected Windows versions once released. Prioritize patching systems with interactive desktop access and user-facing graphics applications.

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/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. Identify Windows version and build
    Run 'systeminfo' or PowerShell: 'Get-ComputerInfo | Select-Object WindowsProductName, OsVersion, OsBuildNumber'
    Affected if The OS is Windows 11 24h2/25h2/26h1 or Windows Server 2025 with a build number below the fixed versions (26100.8246, 26200.8246, 28000.1836, or 26100.32690 respectively)
  2. Get exact build number
    Run 'ver' at command prompt or PowerShell: '(Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion').CurrentBuild' and '.UBR'
    Affected if The combined build number (CurrentBuild.UBR) is lower than the fixed version numbers listed above for your Windows edition
  3. Confirm graphics component is present
    Verify the presence of graphics DLLs: check for gdi32.dll or win32k.sys in %SystemRoot%\System32 using 'dir %SystemRoot%\System32\gdi32.dll'
    Affected if These core graphics DLLs exist on all Windows desktop and server installations - the component is always present when Windows is installed

You are affected if your system runs Windows 11 24h2, 25h2, 26h1, or Windows Server 2025 with a build number lower than the fixed thresholds (26100.8246, 26200.8246, 28000.1836, or 26100.32690 respectively).

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 10.0.26100.8246 / 10.0.26100.32690 / 10.0.26200.8246 or later
Fixed in 10.0.26100.824610.0.26100.3269010.0.26200.8246
Interim mitigation

Apply Microsoft security updates for affected Windows versions once released. Prioritize patching systems with interactive desktop access and user-facing graphics applications.

Recommended fix High confidence

Windows 11 24h2 build 10.0.26100.8246 or later | Windows 11 25h2 build 10.0.26200.8246 or later | Windows 11 26h1 build 10.0.28000.1836 or later | Windows Server 2025 build 10.0.26100.32690 or later

  1. Open Settings > Windows Update and check for updates
  2. Apply the latest cumulative security update for your Windows version
  3. Restart the system when prompted
  4. Verify the update by running 'winver' and confirming the build number matches or exceeds the fixed version (26100.8246 for 24h2, 26200.8246 for 25h2, 28000.1836 for 26h1, or 26100.32690 for Server 2025)
Caveat Standard Windows cumulative update; verify compatibility with legacy applications before deployment in enterprise environments

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

Fix this in Windows 11 24h2 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-32221 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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-2026-32221 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