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Windows 10 1809Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2026-50373

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-07-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.17763.9020 / 10.0.19044.7548 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click 5 weeks old

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
Improper access control in Microsoft Windows Search Component allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.

In the news

Third-party coverage
Trending covered by 1 outlet this week · latest 1mo ago

Surfaced from public web coverage — external links open in a new tab.

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

This is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in the Windows Search Component stemming from improper access control. An authorized attacker (someone with basic system access) can exploit this to gain higher privileges on the affected Windows system. The vulnerability allows bypassing normal permission boundaries within the Search Component.

MitigationApply the Microsoft security update for this vulnerability once released. Until then, limit local user privileges to the minimum required and monitor for suspicious access to the Windows Search service.

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:< 10.0.17763.9020
Windows 10 21h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19044.7548
Windows 10 22h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19045.7548
Windows 11 24h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.26100.8875
Windows 11 25h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.26200.8875
Windows 11 26h1Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.28000.2269< 10.0.28000.2525
Windows Server 2019Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.17763.9020
Windows Server 2022Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.20348.5386

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 or PowerShell and run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /C:"Build"'. Alternatively, run 'ver' in cmd. Compare the build number against the affected version thresholds.
    Affected if The installed build number is less than 10.0.17763.9020 (Server 2019/Windows 10 1809), 10.0.19044.7548 (Windows 10 21h2), 10.0.19045.7548 (Windows 10 22h2), 10.0.26100.8875 (Windows 11 24h2), 10.0.26200.8875 (Windows 11 25h2), 10.0.28000.2269 or 10.0.28000.2525 (Windows 11 26h1), or 10.0.20348.5386
  2. Verify Windows Search service status
    Open Services (services.msc) and locate 'Windows Search' or run 'Get-Service -Name "WSearch"' in PowerShell. Check if the service exists and its current running state.
    Affected if The Windows Search service is present and running on the system. The vulnerability exists within this component.
  3. Confirm exact OS version and build
    Run 'winmicr get osversion' or in PowerShell run '[System.Environment]::OSVersion.Version' and '[System.Diagnostics.FileVersionInfo]::GetVersionInfo("$env:SystemRoot\System32\kernel32.dll")'. Note the major.minor.build.revision format.
    Affected if The returned version falls within the affected version ranges listed for any of the supported Windows products.
  4. Check if running a supported Windows product
    Run 'systeminfo' in Command Prompt or 'Get-ComputerInfo | Select-Object OsName, OsVersion' in PowerShell to identify the exact Windows product edition and version.
    Affected if The system is running Windows 10 1809/21h2/22h2, Windows 11 24h2/25h2/26h1, Windows Server 2019, or Windows Server 2022 with a build number below the fixed versions.

A system is affected if it is running any of the listed Windows products with a build number lower than the specified threshold AND has the Windows Search component enabled.

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 10.0.17763.9020 / 10.0.19044.7548 / 10.0.19045.7548 or later
Fixed in 10.0.17763.902010.0.19044.754810.0.19045.7548
Interim mitigation

Apply the Microsoft security update for this vulnerability once released. Until then, limit local user privileges to the minimum required and monitor for suspicious access to the Windows Search service.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Apply the latest cumulative security update for your Windows version that includes the fix for CVE-2026-50373 (see Microsoft Security Update Guide for the specific KB).

  1. Identify your Windows version and build (run winver or open Settings > System > About).
  2. Open the Microsoft Security Update Guide (https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide) and search for CVE-2026-50373 to locate the applicable security update (KB article).
  3. Install the update via Windows Update (Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Check for updates) or manually download the KB from the Microsoft Update Catalog.
  4. Restart the computer to complete the installation.
Caveat No known breaking changes; the update is a 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
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,560
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,096.

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-2026-50373 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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