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Windows 11 26h1Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2026-44813

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-06-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.28000.2269 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

A use-after-free vulnerability in the Windows Desktop Window Manager (DWM) Core Library allows a local attacker to manipulate memory after it has been freed, potentially executing arbitrary code with elevated privileges.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates for this vulnerability when released. Until a patch is available, minimize the attack surface by restricting user privileges and monitoring for suspicious processes interacting with DWM components.

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 26h1Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.28000.2269

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. Confirm Windows 11 26h1 edition
    Open Settings > System > About, or run 'winver' command, and verify the OS displays as Windows 11 with version 24H2 or later indicating the 26h1 update channel
    Affected if The system is running an edition other than Windows 11 26h1 (this vulnerability does not affect other Windows versions)
  2. Identify Windows build number
    Run 'winver' or execute 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' in Command Prompt, or check Settings > System > About > Windows specification > Build
    Affected if The build number cannot be determined or the system is not Windows 11
  3. Compare build against vulnerable range
    Locate the Build number (for example 226x.x) and compare it numerically to 28000.2269 - note that builds below 28000, or builds at 28000 but below .2269, are affected
    Affected if The installed build number is less than 10.0.28000.2269 (for example 28000.2268 or lower, or any build in the 27000 range)
  4. Verify DWM Core Library is present
    Check that the Desktop Window Manager (dwm.exe) process is running - open Task Manager, go to Details tab, and look for 'dwm.exe', or run 'tasklist | findstr dwm' in Command Prompt
    Affected if DWM is not running (though on default Windows 11 installations it is always active, which would still mean the system is vulnerable if the build is in range)

The system is affected if running Windows 11 26h1 with a build number lower than 10.0.28000.2269 and the DWM process is active (which is the default state).

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 10.0.28000.2269 or later
Fixed in 10.0.28000.2269
Interim mitigation

Apply Microsoft security updates for this vulnerability when released. Until a patch is available, minimize the attack surface by restricting user privileges and monitoring for suspicious processes interacting with DWM components.

Recommended fix High confidence

Windows 11 26h1 version 10.0.28000.2269 or later

  1. Open Settings > Windows Update and check for available updates
  2. Install the security update that addresses CVE-2026-44813 (KB reference needed from Microsoft Security Response Center)
  3. Restart the computer when prompted to complete the update installation
  4. Verify the update was installed by checking Windows version - it should be 10.0.28000.2269 or higher for Windows 11 26h1
Caveat Standard security patch; may require system restart; ensure backups of critical data before updating

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

Fix this in Windows 11 26h1 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

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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-2026-44813 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