This vulnerability is an out-of-bounds read in the Windows Desktop Window Manager (DWM) Core Library, identified as CWE‑125. An attacker who already has local access can exploit the defect to gain higher privileges on the same machine. The flaw does not provide a direct exploit path for network-originated attackers, but it allows a locally authenticated user to step up from user level to administrator or SYSTEM privileges without further authentication.

Affected products include Microsoft Windows 10 from version 1607 through 22H2, Windows 11 from the 23H2 build to the latest releases, and Windows Server editions from 2016 to 2025 (including Server Core installations). All listed builds listed in the CNA data are vulnerable until a patch is applied.

The CVSS score of 7.8 classifies this as high severity, and although no EPSS score is available, the exposure is high for any user who can run code on the vulnerable host. The vulnerability is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog, but the local privilege escalation potential warrants rapid remediation. Attackers would need local access and the ability to trigger the read; the window manager process is a high‑privilege target, giving the attacker a powerful execution channel once the flaw is triggered.