Windows
CVE-2026-21255
HIGH
Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessAuthenticate locally as standard user
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ExploitAccess Hyper-V administrative interfaces
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ExecutionBypass access control checks
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ImpactExecute privileged operations on virtual machines
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Access control enforcement
MITRE ATT&CK
1 technique across 1 tactic: Defense Evasion The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Attacker must have local user account access on Windows Hyper-V host system. Requires Hyper-V role installed and enabled. Standard user privilege escalation to bypass security feature enforcement on Hyper-V administrative operations. |
| Impact | CVSS 8.8 (HIGH). Attack vector: Local. Complexity: Low. Privileges required: Low. User interaction: None. Exploitable via local access. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to compromise the affected system. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Mar 12, 2026
Windows Hyper-V fails to properly enforce access controls, enabling local authenticated users to circumvent security features and gain unauthorized system access. This high-severity flaw affects Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows Server 2022, and Hyper-V implementations, allowing privileged attackers to escalate privileges across system boundaries. No patch is currently available for this vulnerability.
Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
Improper access control in Windows Hyper-V allows an authorized attacker to bypass a security feature locally. [CVSS 8.8 HIGH]
RemediationAI
Monitor vendor advisories for a patch.
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 13 packages in microsoft
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
Classified as CWE-284 (Improper Access Control). Affects Windows 10 1607. Improper access control in Windows Hyper-V allows an authorized attacker to bypass a security feature locally.
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- Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
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Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.
CVSS VectorNVD
DescriptionCVE.org
Improper access control in Windows Hyper-V allows an authorized attacker to bypass a security feature locally.
Executive ViewAI
A high-severity vulnerability in Windows Hyper-V (CVE-2026-21255) allows authenticated attackers to bypass critical security controls on virtualized infrastructure. This poses a significant risk to organizations managing virtualized workloads, as compromised hypervisors could enable lateral movement and unauthorized access to sensitive virtual machines and data.
Restrict Hyper-V administrative access through Active Directory group policy and multi-factor authentication; disable non-critical Hyper-V features and services; implement network micro-segmentation to isolate hypervisor management traffic; enable enhanced logging and alerting on hypervisor access attempts; consider temporary failover to alternative virtualization platforms for critical workloads if available.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Affected Products (CPE)CVE.org
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NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
GitHub PoC
Exploit-DB