EUVD-2026-44130
GHSA-m9vx-86m5-mp2h
Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Local-only kernel use-after-free (AV:L) needing an existing low-privilege account (PR:L), reliably triggerable with no user interaction, yielding full SYSTEM control (C/I/A:H).
Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).
CVSS VectorNVD
Lifecycle Timeline
5DescriptionNVD
Use after free in Windows USB Print Driver allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
AnalysisAI
Local privilege escalation in the Microsoft Windows USB Print Driver (usbprint) affects Windows 11 (24H2, 25H2, 26H1) and Windows Server 2025, where a use-after-free memory-corruption flaw lets an already-authenticated local user execute code with elevated (SYSTEM-level) privileges. Reported by Microsoft with a vendor patch available and an SSVC 'total' technical-impact rating, it currently has no public exploit and a low EPSS score (0.25%, 16th percentile), indicating no observed exploitation to date. The bug requires an existing low-privilege foothold on the machine, making it a post-compromise escalation primitive rather than an initial-access vector.
Technical ContextAI
The affected component is the Windows kernel-mode USB printing driver stack that binds printer-class USB devices to the Windows print subsystem. The root cause is CWE-416 (Use After Free): the driver continues to reference a heap object after it has been freed, allowing an attacker who controls allocation/free timing to reclaim the freed memory with attacker-shaped data and hijack a subsequent dereference. Because this code runs in kernel context, successful corruption yields kernel-level execution. CPE data scopes the flaw precisely to cpe:2.3:a:microsoft with product entries for windows_11_version_24h2, windows_11_version_25h2, windows_11_version_26h1, windows_server_2025, and windows_server_2025_(server_core_installation), confirming this is limited to the current Windows 11 and Server 2025 code lines rather than legacy releases.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: apply the Microsoft security update that raises the OS to at least build 10.0.26100.8875 (Windows 11 24H2), 10.0.26200.8875 (Windows 11 25H2), 10.0.28000.2525 (Windows 11 26H1), or 10.0.26100.33158 (Windows Server 2025 and Server Core), as listed in the MSRC advisory at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-50674. Deploy via Windows Update / WSUS / your patch-management tooling on the standard monthly cadence, prioritizing multi-user and shared workstations where untrusted local accounts exist. Because exploitation depends on the USB print driver being loadable, an interim compensating control on systems that never use USB printers is to restrict USB printer-class device installation via Group Policy (Device Installation Restrictions) or disable the usbprint service; the trade-off is that legitimate USB printers will stop functioning, so this suits servers and locked-down endpoints far better than user desktops. Standard least-privilege hygiene - minimizing the number of interactive low-privilege accounts on a host - also reduces the population of attackers positioned to exploit it.
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Same weakness CWE-416 – Use After Free
View allSame technique Use After Free
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External POC / Exploit Code
Leaving vuln.today