EUVD-2026-43916
GHSA-vrq2-m64r-469m
Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Race condition requires winning a timing window so AC:H; needs an authenticated foothold so PR:L; SSVC total technical impact supports C:H/I:H/A:H with unchanged scope.
Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).
CVSS VectorNVD
Lifecycle Timeline
5DescriptionNVD
Concurrent execution using shared resource with improper synchronization ('race condition') in Windows Media allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges over a network.
AnalysisAI
Elevation of privilege in Microsoft's Windows Media component affects Windows 11 (24H2, 25H2, 26H1) and Windows Server 2025, where a race condition (CWE-362) lets an already-authenticated attacker win a timing window to gain higher privileges over the network. Microsoft (the reporter) has shipped fixes and rates impact as total loss of confidentiality, integrity, and availability, though there is no public exploit identified at time of analysis and CISA's SSVC marks exploitation status as none. EPSS is low (0.47%, 38th percentile), consistent with a patched, non-trivial-to-exploit flaw rather than an imminent mass-exploitation threat.
Technical ContextAI
The root cause is CWE-362, concurrent execution using a shared resource with improper synchronization - a classic race condition. In Windows Media, multiple threads or requests access shared state without adequate locking, so an attacker who can precisely time overlapping operations can manipulate the resource in an unintended order (e.g., a time-of-check to time-of-use gap) to break the privilege boundary. The CPE data pins the affected code to modern Windows builds only: cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:windows_11_version_24h2, windows_11_version_25h2, windows_11_version_26h1, windows_server_2025, and windows_server_2025_(server_core_installation), indicating this is specific to the current Windows 11/Server 2025 media stack rather than legacy Windows versions.
RemediationAI
Apply the Microsoft security update to reach or exceed the fixed builds: 10.0.26100.8875 for Windows 11 24H2, 10.0.26200.8875 for Windows 11 25H2, 10.0.28000.2269 for Windows 11 26H1, and 10.0.26100.33158 for Windows Server 2025 (including Server Core) - Vendor-released patch is available per the MSRC advisory at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-50414. Because exploitation requires an existing low-privilege authenticated foothold, the most effective compensating control until patching completes is tightening account and network access: limit which authenticated users can reach the affected media services, enforce least privilege so fewer accounts qualify as the 'authorized attacker,' and restrict network exposure of the affected service to trusted management segments (trade-off: may disrupt legitimate remote media/streaming functionality). No reliable code-level workaround is documented, so prompt patching is the primary remediation and access restrictions are a bridge, not a substitute.
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Same weakness CWE-362 – Race Condition
View allSame technique Information Disclosure
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External POC / Exploit Code
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