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Windows 10 1809Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2026-42983

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-06-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.17763.8880 / 10.0.19044.7417 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 Windows DWM Core Library 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 Windows DWM Core Library (Desktop Window Manager) enables a local authorized attacker to achieve privilege escalation by exploiting memory corruption after a memory region has been freed.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates addressing this vulnerability through Windows Update or enterprise patch management systems; no workarounds available for this kernel-adjacent Windows component.

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 1809Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.17763.8880
Windows 10 21h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19044.7417
Windows 10 22h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19045.7417
Windows 11 23h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.22631.7219
Windows 11 24h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.26100.8655
Windows 11 25h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.26200.8655
Windows 11 26h1Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.28000.2269
Windows Server 2019Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.17763.8880

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
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Version"' to obtain the full Windows build number (e.g., 10.0.19045.7417)
    Affected if The build number falls below any of these thresholds: 17763.8880 (Windows 10 1809/Server 2019), 19044.7417 (Windows 10 21h2), 19045.7417 (Windows 10 22h2), 22631.7219 (Windows 11 23h2), 26100.8655 (Windows 11 24h2), 26200.8655 (Windows 11 25h2), or 28000.2269 (Windows 11 26h1)
  2. Locate dwmcore.dll version
    Open File Explorer, navigate to C:\Windows\System32\dwmcore.dll, right-click the file, select Properties, and view the Details tab for the File version
    Affected if The file version shown is lower than the corresponding Windows build version threshold for your Windows edition (e.g., versions below 10.0.17763.8880 for Windows 10 1809/Server 2019)
  3. Confirm DWM is running
    Open Task Manager, go to the Processes or Details tab, and look for "Desktop Window Manager" (dwm.exe) in the list of running processes
    Affected if DWM is actively running and either the Windows build or dwmcore.dll version is below the patched thresholds listed above

Your environment is affected if you are running any of the listed Windows versions with a build number lower than the specified threshold for your release, and DWM 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 10.0.17763.8880 / 10.0.19044.7417 / 10.0.19045.7417 or later
Fixed in 10.0.17763.888010.0.19044.741710.0.19045.7417
Interim mitigation

Apply Microsoft security updates addressing this vulnerability through Windows Update or enterprise patch management systems; no workarounds available for this kernel-adjacent Windows component.

Recommended fix High confidence

Apply Windows security updates; fixed builds range from 10.0.17763.8880 (Windows 10 1809/Server 2019) to 10.0.28000.2269 (Windows 11 26h1) depending on version

  1. Check current Windows version and build number by running 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"'
  2. Open Windows Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update
  3. Click 'Check for updates' to download and install the latest cumulative security update
  4. Alternatively, manually download the specific security update from the Microsoft Update Catalog for your Windows version
  5. Restart the system after the update is installed
  6. Verify the build number matches or exceeds the fixed version for your Windows release
Caveat Standard Windows updateapply; may require restart; no known breaking changes for this security patch

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

Fix this in Windows 10 1809 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,600
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,160.

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-2026-42983 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