CVE-2025-55334VulnerabilityPublished 14 Oct 2025Updated 22 Feb 2026

CVE-2025-55334: Microsoft Windows 11 version 22H2 · Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information

Affects Microsoft Windows 11 version 22H2Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.2 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.2Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 28% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

Base metrics

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: None
Availability: None

Temporal metrics

Exploit Code Maturity: Unproven
Remediation Level: Official Fix
Report Confidence: Confirmed

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.
Exploit Code Maturity: Unproven: No exploit code is available, or an exploit is theoretical.
Remediation Level: Official Fix: A complete vendor solution is available. Either the vendor has issued an official patch, or an upgrade is available.
Report Confidence: Confirmed: Detailed reports exist, or functional reproduction is possible (functional exploits may provide this). Source code is available to independently verify the assertions of the research, or the author or vendor of the affected code has confirmed the presence of the vulnerability.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 14 Oct 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-26.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Microsoft Windows 11 version 22H2	Affected =10.0.22621.0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

1. Restrict local access strictly to trusted users and administrators to minimize the risk of exploitation. 2. Implement strong physical security controls to prevent unauthorized physical access to devices running Windows 11 22H2. 3. Employ endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to monitor for suspicious local activity that could indicate attempts to access kernel memory or sensitive data. 4. Use application whitelisting and privilege management to limit the ability of untrusted users or processes to execute code or access sensitive areas of the system. 5. Regularly audit and review local user accounts and permissions to ensure no unnecessary accounts have local access. 6. Monitor Microsoft security advisories closely and apply patches promptly once Microsoft releases a fix for this vulnerability. 7. Consider deploying additional encryption or data protection mechanisms at the application or disk level to reduce the impact of cleartext data exposure. 8. Educate users and administrators about the risks of local access vulnerabilities and encourage reporting of suspicious behavior.

Description

Cleartext storage of sensitive information in Windows Kernel allows an unauthorized attacker to bypass a security feature locally.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2025-55334 is the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information stored in cleartext within the Windows Kernel. This can lead to confidentiality breaches where attackers gain access to sensitive data such as credentials or cryptographic material, potentially facilitating further attacks or privilege escalation. Although the vulnerability does not directly compromise system integrity or availability, the exposure of sensitive kernel data can undermine trust in system security and enable subsequent exploitation chains. Organizations worldwide using Windows 11 version 22H2 are at risk, especially those with environments where local access can be obtained by untrusted users, such as shared workstations, multi-user systems, or environments with weak physical security. The lack of required privileges or user interaction lowers the barrier for exploitation once local access is achieved. This vulnerability could be particularly damaging in sectors handling sensitive data, including government, finance, healthcare, and critical infrastructure. The absence of known exploits in the wild reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the potential for future attacks once exploit code becomes available.

CWE-312Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A06:2025: Insecure Design (opens in a new tab)
The product stores sensitive information in cleartext within a resource that might be accessible to another control sphere.
Implementation · System Configuration · Operation
When storing data in the cloud (e.g., S3 buckets, Azure blobs, Google Cloud Storage, etc.), use the provider's controls to encrypt the data at rest.
Implementation · System Configuration · Operation
In some systems/environments such as cloud, the use of "double encryption" (at both the software and hardware layer) might be required, and the developer might be solely responsible for both layers, instead of shared responsibility with the administrator of the broader system/environment.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Secure Design Principles (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V8.1.6 (opens in a new tab)
V8.2.3 (opens in a new tab)
V8.2.2 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Retrieve Embedded Sensitive Data (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2025-55334 (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 22 Feb 2026, 20:56 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-312

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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