Cyber Resilience

CVE-2025-55696

Race Condition in Microsoft Windows 10 1809 ≤ 10.0.17763.7919

Published
14 October 2025
Modified
30 October 2025
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0021 11th percentile
Risk Priority 55 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2025-55696 is a high-severity Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition (CWE-367) vulnerability in Microsoft Windows 10 1809. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Path Interception (T1034); ranked at the 11th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-25 (Reference Monitor) and SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Time-of-check time-of-use (toctou) race condition in NtQueryInformation Token function (ntifs.h) allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1034 Path Interception Persistence
**This technique has been deprecated.
T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-55236Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1809
CVE-2026-35418Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1809
CVE-2026-20857Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1809
CVE-2024-43629Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1809
CVE-2024-43624Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1809
CVE-2025-27739Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1809
CVE-2025-59207Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1809
CVE-2025-55681Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1809
CVE-2025-55680Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1809
CVE-2026-20809Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1809

Affected Assets

microsoft
windows 10 1809
≤ 10.0.17763.7919 · ≤ 10.0.17763.7919
microsoft
windows 10 21h2
≤ 10.0.19044.6456
microsoft
windows 10 22h2
≤ 10.0.19045.6456
microsoft
windows 11 22h2
≤ 10.0.22621.6060
microsoft
windows 11 23h2
≤ 10.0.22631.6060
microsoft
windows 11 24h2
≤ 10.0.26100.6899
microsoft
windows 11 25h2
≤ 10.0.26200.6899
microsoft
windows server 2019
≤ 10.0.17763.7919
microsoft
windows server 2022
≤ 10.0.20348.4294
microsoft
windows server 2022 23h2
≤ 10.0.25398.1913
+1 more product configuration(s) — see NVD for full list

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V15.4.2
  • V17.2.6

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

A reference monitor that is always invoked and analyzable structurally eliminates the non-atomic check-then-use pattern underlying TOCTOU.

Developer testing and evaluation can discover instances where untrusted data is turned into a pointer and dereferenced.

Validating all information inputs stops untrusted values from being accepted and converted into dereferenceable pointers.

Access enforcement that performs an atomic check-and-use decision directly stops the window in which a TOCTOU race can be exploited.

Process isolation limits the blast radius of a successful TOCTOU exploitation but does not remove the race itself.

Memory-protection mechanisms limit the damage from an invalid pointer dereference without stopping the root coding flaw.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly include coding standards and reviews that prevent TOCTOU race conditions.

DE.CM-09 partial match
prevents

Runtime monitoring of software and data can detect adverse events resulting from exploitation of the weakness.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability identification processes can discover instances of this weakness via code review or scanning.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

finds

Security testing can detect pointer-dereference flaws before release.

prevents

Secure development lifecycle includes pointer-safety practices that reduce untrusted pointer dereference risk.

prevents

Application security requirements can mandate validation of pointers obtained from untrusted sources.

prevents

Secure architecture principles discourage direct use of untrusted values as pointers.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid dereferencing pointers derived from untrusted input.

none

Reliable, synchronized time across systems narrows the exploitable window in which a resource state can change between a security check and its use.

References