CVE-2026-25189 — Windows DWM Core Library Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Executive Summary

Use after free in Windows DWM Core Library allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.

Overview

7.8

CVSS HIGH

Important

MS Severity

Not Exploited

MS Exploit Status

Less Likely

MS Exploit Likelihood

Category Elevation of Privilege

Released Mar 10 2026

Last Updated Mar 10 2026

Publicly Disclosed No

CISA KEV Not Listed

Known Exploits None Known

EPSS Score 0.00334 — 0.24977 percentile

NVD CVSS 7.8 HIGH — matches MSRC

CVSS Vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C

ATTACK VECTOR

Local

ATTACK COMPLEXITY

Low

PRIVILEGES REQUIRED

Low

USER INTERACTION

None

SCOPE

Unchanged

CONFIDENTIALITY

High

INTEGRITY

High

AVAILABILITY

High

EXPLOIT CODE MATURITY

Unproven

REMEDIATION LEVEL

Official Fix

REPORT CONFIDENCE

Confirmed

Temporal Score: 6.8

EPSS Score

0.00334

probability of exploitation in the next 30 days

0.24977 percentile - updated 2026-06-21

View on FIRST.org

Affected Products

10 affected products

Product	KB Article	Severity	Impact	Restart Required
Windows 10 Version 1809 for 32-bit Systems	`5078752 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1809 for x64-based Systems	`5078752 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 21H2 for 32-bit Systems	`5078885 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 21H2 for ARM64-based Systems	`5078885 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 21H2 for x64-based Systems	`5078885 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 22H2 for 32-bit Systems	`5078885 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 22H2 for ARM64-based Systems	`5078885 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 22H2 for x64-based Systems	`5078885 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows Server 2019	`5078752 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows Server 2019 (Server Core installation)	`5078752 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes

Patches

2 patches

Article	Type	Restart
`5078752`	Security Update	Yes
`5078885`	Security Update	Yes

Known Exploits

No known exploits have been linked for this CVE yet. When available, exploit references will be sourced from public repositories and may be unverified, incomplete, or non-functional. Always review code carefully before use in any environment.

Acknowledgments

Varun Goel

References

MSRC Advisory MITRE NVD