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Don't just assume the seal is shot and buy a replacement bowl - most leaks come from the rubber gasket not being seated properly or food particles getting stuck in the groove.
Check that the gasket is sitting flush all the way around the bowl rim and give it a good clean with warm soapy water, getting into that groove with a soft brush or cloth. If water still leaks when the bowl is empty and locked in place, then the gasket probably needs replacing, which is cheap and easy enough to swap out yourself.
The rubber gasket seal is almost always the culprit, and the fix is dead simple: make sure it's actually sitting flush in that groove before you lock the bowl down. Seriously, even a tiny misalignment or a piece of food debris lodged in there will cause leaking. Take the bowl off, pull out the gasket, inspect it for cracks or hardening (Cuisinart gaskets do degrade over time), and clean out the groove thoroughly - I'm talking wiping it down with a damp cloth to get any residue out. Then reseat the gasket carefully, making sure it's evenly positioned all the way around.
If you've done that and it's still leaking, fill the bowl with water without the feed tube attached and test it while it's just sitting there. If it leaks while stationary, the gasket itself needs replacing - they're pretty cheap. But if it only leaks when you're running it, the problem might be the bowl itself developing a hairline crack, which happens occasionally with temperature changes or if something got dropped. The other thing I'd check is whether your lid is locking all the way down - sometimes the latch mechanism gets slightly worn and doesn't create enough downward pressure on the bowl.
I had this happen after making salsa and didn't realize a few seeds had wedged into the bottom seal area - took me way longer to figure out than it should've.
Before you go replacing anything, unplug it and flip the bowl over to inspect that rubber gasket ring carefully. Sometimes crud just gets stuck in there or the gasket slides slightly out of position during assembly, and a quick clean and proper realignment fixes it immediately.
If it's still leaking after you've verified the gasket is sitting right and there's nothing blocking it, then yeah, the seal itself might be deteriorating, but honestly that's the less common scenario.
Skip the instinct to immediately twist that bowl tighter - that actually makes leaks worse, not better. What you're probably dealing with is the gasket slipping out of its groove during assembly, especially if you're moving fast. Take the bowl completely apart, inspect that rubber ring to make sure it's sitting evenly all the way around (not bunched or twisted anywhere), then reassemble it gently and lock it down. If water still drips after that, then you've got an actual seal problem worth replacing.
When you say it leaks, is it during processing or when you're pouring stuff out? Most folks are spot-on about the gasket, but here's something nobody mentioned: run your finger around that rubber seal under warm water before reassembling. Sometimes dried-on starch or oil films prevent it from sealing properly, especially if you've been making things like pesto or hummus. Once it's clean and dry, press it firmly into the groove all the way around before locking the bowl in place - don't just trust it to seat itself.
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