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CVE-2026-69392· NVD / CVE Program· CNA microsoft

Windows Shell Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Use after free in Windows Shell allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.

HighCVSS 7.8 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
Sep 8, 2026
Updated
Sep 30, 2026
EPSS
0.3% · 16th percentile
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Action score

31

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
31 / 40 · 7.8 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.3%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
none
Automatable
no
Technical impact
total

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
—
CNA · microsoft
7.8
NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.

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

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

Affected systems

VendorProduct
microsoftwindows 11 23h2
microsoftwindows 11 24h2
microsoftwindows 11 25h2
microsoftwindows 11 26h1
microsoftwindows server 2025

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • microsoft windows server 2025before 10.0.26100.33438

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (microsoft). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • Microsoft Windows 11 version 23H2

    • 10.0.22631.0 and later · before 10.0.22631.7582affected

  • Microsoft Windows 11 Version 23H2

    • 10.0.22631.0 and later · before 10.0.22631.7582affected

  • Microsoft Windows 11 Version 24H2

    • 10.0.26100.0 and later · before 10.0.26100.9445affected

  • Microsoft Windows 11 Version 25H2

    • 10.0.26200.0 and later · before 10.0.26200.9445affected

  • Microsoft Windows 11 version 26H1

    • 10.0.28000.0 and later · before 10.0.28000.2954affected

  • Microsoft Windows Server 2025

    • 10.0.26100.0 and later · before 10.0.26100.33438affected

  • Microsoft Windows Server 2025 (Server Core installation)

    • 10.0.26100.0 and later · before 10.0.26100.33438affected

Same product

microsoft: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2026-81963Windows Update Stack Elevation of Privilege VulnerabilityKEV
    61This week
  • CVE-2026-62815Microsoft QUIC Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
    39Monitor
  • CVE-2026-45657Windows Kernel Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
    39Monitor
  • CVE-2026-41096Windows DNS Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
    39Monitor
  • CVE-2025-9491Microsoft Windows LNK File UI Misrepresentation Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
    39Monitor
  • CVE-2026-40402Windows Hyper-V Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
    37Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
Windows 11 Version 23H2 for ARM64-based Systems10.0.22631.7582 · KB5122880Microsoft (MSRC)
Windows 11 Version 23H2 for x64-based Systems10.0.22631.7582 · KB5122880Microsoft (MSRC)
Windows 11 Version 24H2 for ARM64-based Systems10.0.26100.9445 · KB5124008Microsoft (MSRC)
Windows 11 Version 24H2 for x64-based Systems10.0.26100.9445 · KB5124008Microsoft (MSRC)
Windows 11 Version 25H2 for ARM64-based Systems10.0.26200.9445 · KB5124008Microsoft (MSRC)
Windows 11 Version 25H2 for x64-based Systems10.0.26200.9445 · KB5124008Microsoft (MSRC)
Windows 11 Version 26H1 for ARM64-based Systems10.0.28000.2954 · KB5124012Microsoft (MSRC)
Windows 11 version 26H1 for x64-based Systems10.0.28000.2954 · KB5124012Microsoft (MSRC)
Windows Server 202510.0.26100.33438 · KB5122871Microsoft (MSRC)
Windows Server 2025 (Server Core installation)10.0.26100.33438 · KB5122871Microsoft (MSRC)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

  • CVE-2026-6281528 days apartMicrosoft QUIC Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
    39Monitor
  • CVE-2026-40402119 days apartWindows Hyper-V Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
    37Monitor
  • CVE-2026-697400 days apartWindows Hello Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
    35Monitor
  • CVE-2026-729360 days apartWindows SMB Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
    32Monitor
  • CVE-2026-6193428 days apartWindows Bind Filter Driver Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
    31Monitor
  • CVE-2026-32152147 days apartDesktop Window Manager Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
    31Monitor

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
  • A low-privileged account is enough.
  • No user action is required.
  • Special conditions such as timing or configuration are required.

If successful

Confidentiality
high · data can be read
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted

Impact can extend beyond the vulnerable component (scope changes).

Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
High
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-416 · Use After Free

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

nvd-secondary

Root cause

After a memory region is freed, another reference pointing to it is still used. By then, the same region may have been allocated for different data.

The bug in code

The whole CWE-416 class

A representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.

Vulnerable

c
free(dev->buf);/* ... another thread is still running ... */process(dev->buf);

Fixed

c
lock(&dev->lock);free(dev->buf);dev->buf = NULL;unlock(&dev->lock);

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.

Noroxi analysis

No Noroxi analysis for this record yet

We don't hand-write analysis for all 385,000+ vulnerabilities; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.

We use this product, ask for help

Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records