Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessObtain low-privileged local foothold
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DeliveryInvoke Windows Error Reporting with crafted input
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ExploitTrigger heap-based buffer overflow (CWE-122)
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ExecutionCorrupt heap to hijack execution
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ImpactExecute code as SYSTEM
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Heap buffer bounds checking
MITRE ATT&CK
1 technique across 1 tactic: Execution The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires the Windows Error Reporting (WER) component to be reachable and triggerable by the attacker, which is a default, built-in Windows subsystem across all affected SKUs, so no special feature toggle is needed. The limiting factors are that the attacker must already have local code-execution ability on the host with at least low-level authenticated privileges (PR:L, AV:L) - this cannot be exploited remotely or by an unauthenticated user - and the target must be an unpatched build below the fixed versions listed in EUVD (e.g. Windows 11 24H2 below 10.0.26100.9711, Windows Server 2022 below 10.0.20348.5761). No user interaction is required (UI:N) and attack complexity is low (AC:L). |
| Impact | The CVSS vector (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, base 7.8 HIGH) describes a local privilege-escalation flaw: the attacker must already have local access and low-level (authenticated, PR:L) privileges, but attack complexity is low and no user interaction is required, with full confidentiality, integrity and availability impact on the affected system. There is no EPSS score, no CISA KEV listing, and no public POC in the provided data, so exploitation probability signals are absent rather than contradictory - this is a patch-available vendor-reported bug (secure@microsoft.com) with no evidence of active exploitation at time of analysis. Realistically this is a solid second-tier priority rather than an emergency: because it is a local EoP it cannot be used for initial access and is most valuable as a post-compromise step to go from a standard user to SYSTEM, which is a very common pairing with a separate initial-access vulnerability. No key signals conflict; the main gap is the lack of EPSS/KEV/POC data, meaning likelihood of exploitation cannot be quantified and should be treated as unknown-but-plausible given the ubiquity of Windows and Microsoft's own reporting. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker who already has a low-privileged foothold on a Windows host (for example a standard user account obtained via phishing or a separate RCE) runs a crafted process that drives Windows Error Reporting into a heap-based buffer overflow, corrupting heap memory to hijack execution in a higher-privileged context and gain SYSTEM-level control. No user interaction is needed and attack complexity is low, but local access and existing low privileges (PR:L) are prerequisites. No public exploit code is identified at time of analysis. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 13, 2026
Heap-based buffer overflow in Microsoft Windows Error Reporting (WER) lets a locally authenticated attacker holding only low-level privileges elevate their privileges on the host, with full confidentiality, integrity and availability impact (CVSS 3.1 base 7.8, AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H). No user interaction or non-default configuration is required because WER is a built-in subsystem present across every affected Windows 10, Windows 11 and Windows Server 2016-2025 SKU, but the flaw is not remotely exploitable: the attacker must already be able to run code locally under a valid low-privilege account. There is no confirmed active exploitation (the CVE is not in CISA KEV) and no public exploit code identified at time of analysis; Microsoft has published a fix and an advisory entry for the issue, so affected builds below the fixed thresholds should be updated.
RemediationAI
Microsoft has released a vendor patch (patch status: available from vendor per the MSRC update guide, https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-70103); apply the current cumulative update so each affected system is at or above the fixed build for its release - for example 10.0.26100.9711 for Windows 11 24H2 and Windows Server 2025, 10.0.20348.5761 for Windows Server 2022, 10.0.22631.7652 for Windows 11 23H2, 10.0.26200.9711 for Windows 11 25H2, 10.0.14393.9612 for Windows 10 1607/Server 2016, 10.0.17763.9376 for Windows 10 1809/Server 2019, and 10.0.19044.7807 for Windows 10 21H2/22H2. Because this is a local privilege-escalation issue that requires prior authenticated code execution, hardening the environment matters as much as patching: enforce least privilege so standard users cannot run arbitrary code or drop executables, and restrict interactive logon and RDP access on servers to reduce the population of accounts that meet the PR:L precondition. If immediate patching is impossible, a compensating control is to disable or restrict the Windows Error Reporting service through Group Policy (for example turning off crash-dump collection and WER reporting), which removes the triggerable code path, but the trade-off is loss of crash diagnostics and telemetry that support and troubleshooting workflows rely on; this should be treated as a temporary measure and reverted once the patch is deployed. Monitor for local processes attempting to interact with WER components and for unexpected elevation of low-privilege accounts as detection coverage in the interim.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 16 packages in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
The root cause is CWE-122, a heap-based buffer overflow, in the Windows Error Reporting (WER) subsystem - the built-in component that captures crash and error data, generates reports and optionally forwards them to Microsoft. A heap overflow of this class means a length or bounds check is missing or incorrect when processing attacker-influenced data, allowing writes past the end of a heap allocation; successful corruption of adjacent heap structures can be shaped into a controlled write primitive and ultimately into code execution in the security context of the affected WER process. The assessed vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) confirms the practical constraints: the attack is local, complexity is low once the attacker is on the box, and no user interaction is needed, while PR:L means the attacker must already hold authenticated low-level privileges rather than being unauthenticated. Because scope is unchanged (S:U), the attacker gains privilege within the same local security authority rather than crossing a security boundary such as a virtual machine or kernel/user isolation. The only preconditions are therefore an unpatched build below the EUVD-listed fixed versions and the ability to trigger the WER code path, which is available by default on every affected SKU.
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Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Local privilege escalation requires an existing low-privileged account so AV:L and PR:L; low complexity and no interaction, yielding full C/I/A impact as SYSTEM on an unchanged scope.
Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).
CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Heap-based buffer overflow in Windows Error Reporting allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
Executive ViewAI
Microsoft Windows Error Reporting - a built-in subsystem present on every supported Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server 2016-2025 system in the estate - carries a high-severity flaw that allows an authenticated attacker with only low-level local privileges to take full control of the host, compromising confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Because WER requires no special configuration or user interaction, any endpoint where an attacker can already run code under a standard account becomes a viable path to full machine compromise, a common staging step for ransomware and lateral movement. Leadership should note that a vendor fix is already available and the exposure is estate-wide, so the decision here is primarily about remediation speed and operational effort rather than accepting or funding a new control.
Apply vendor patch.
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
Attack Technique
A buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a memory buffer than it was allocated to hold, causing the excess data to spill into adjacent memory regions.
A heap overflow occurs when a program writes data beyond the bounds of a buffer allocated in the heap memory region.
EUVD-2026-99159
GHSA-wm6h-33fx-597g
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB