Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
-
AccessAuthenticate locally as low-privileged user
-
DeliveryPlant symbolic link on target path
-
ExploitTrigger .NET file operation following link
-
ExecutionRedirect access to privileged file
-
ImpactElevate privileges locally
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V5 - File Handling Symlink resolution safety
|
| Exploitation Conditions | Requires an attacker with an existing low-privileged local account on a host running an affected .NET runtime/SDK (.NET 9.0 <9.0.319/9.0.122, 10.0 <10.0.113, 11.0 <11.0.100-rc.2) or Visual Studio (2022 17.14 <17.14.42, 2026 18.10 <18.10.4), plus the ability to create symbolic links or junctions and win a time-of-check/time-of-use race during a privileged .NET file operation. Exploitation is limited by three factors from the CVSS vector: local access only (AV:L), pre-existing low privileges (PR:L), and required user/process interaction to trigger the vulnerable file operation (UI:R); these constraints, combined with SSVC Automatable 'no', make reliable exploitation difficult. |
| Impact | This is a locally-exploitable elevation-of-privilege flaw (CVSS 7.3) rather than a remote threat: the CVSS vector CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H confirms local attack vector, low attacker privileges already required, and mandatory user interaction, which materially constrains real-world risk. The signals are consistent and point to LOW urgency: CISA's SSVC assessment lists Exploitation as 'none' and Automatable as 'no' (link-following TOCTOU races are inherently not reliably automatable), there is no CISA KEV listing, no EPSS score was supplied, and no public exploit was provided in the input - so this is 'no public exploit identified at time of analysis.' The one amplifying signal is SSVC Technical Impact of 'total', which aligns with the C:H/I:H/A:H impact. Net assessment: a legitimate issue worth patching on a normal cadence, but not an emergency - it is a high-CVSS score driven by total technical impact, offset by local access, prior privileges, required user interaction, and no evidence of exploitation. Note a tagging conflict to verify: the input Tag says 'Information Disclosure' while the description and CWE-59 describe local privilege escalation - treat this as an elevation-of-privilege flaw, not info disclosure. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | A low-privileged but authenticated local user on a system with an affected .NET runtime/SDK or Visual Studio plants a symbolic link (or junction) in a path a higher-privileged .NET process will operate on, then induces that operation so the file access is redirected to a protected location, letting the attacker write, overwrite, or read privileged files and escalate. The attack is local only, requires the victim/service to perform the triggering action (UI:R), and no public exploit code was identified at the time of analysis. |
Get an e-mail when this CVE is exploited, patched or re-scored. Free account.
Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 14, 2026
Improper link resolution before file access in Microsoft .NET (CWE-59, 'link following') allows an authorized local attacker to elevate privileges, rated CVSS 7.3 with vector CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Affected components include .NET 9.0 before 9.0.319/9.0.122, .NET 10.0 before 10.0.113, .NET 11.0 before 11.0.100-rc.2, Visual Studio 2022 version 17.14 before 17.14.42, and Visual Studio 2026 version 18.10 before 18.10.4. Exploitation requires a pre-existing low-privileged local account, the ability to plant symbolic links or junctions, and required user/process interaction to trigger a privileged file operation, so the SSVC decision is Exploitation: none, Automatable: no, Technical Impact: total; no public exploit identified at time of analysis, and the EPSS/KEV signals in the provided data give no indication of active exploitation.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch is available from Microsoft per the MSRC Security Update Guide (https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-70190): upgrade .NET 9.0 to 9.0.319 or 9.0.122, .NET 10.0 to 10.0.113, .NET 11.0 to 11.0.100-rc.2, Visual Studio 2022 17.14 to 17.14.42, and Visual Studio 2026 18.10 to 18.10.4, and redeploy any self-contained applications that embed an affected runtime. Because exploitation requires local write access plus the ability to create symbolic links or junctions, a practical compensating control is to remove SeCreateSymbolicLinkPrivilege and disable Windows Developer Mode and junction/symlink creation for non-administrative users, at the cost of breaking legitimate developer workflows that depend on links; hardening link-creation ACLs or enabling Windows Defender controlled folder access and other symlink-race mitigations can reduce the time-of-check/time-of-use window but are heuristic and do not eliminate the flaw. Prompt patching should be prioritized over workarounds on developer workstations and build servers, which combine high-privilege build processes with routine creation of links and are the most likely targets of this local elevation-of-privilege attack.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 4 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-59, Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('link following'), in the Microsoft .NET runtime and SDK: a privileged file operation resolves a path without adequately guarding against symbolic links or NTFS junctions, so a low-privileged local actor can redirect that operation through a link they control to an arbitrary target. Because the operation executes in a higher-privileged context than the attacker, this becomes a local elevation of privilege, and the time-of-check/time-of-use window between link resolution and file access is the classic exploitation pattern. The CVSS vector CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H describes a local attack, low attacker privileges already required, mandatory user interaction, unchanged scope, and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact once the race is won. The CISA SSVC assessment (Exploitation: none, Automatable: no, Technical Impact: total) and the ENISA EUVD record (EUVD-2026-99699) confirm the affected artifacts are the .NET runtime/SDK builds and the Visual Studio releases that bundle them. CPE-level identification is not provided in the input data; the version ranges supplied by EUVD and the MSRC update guide are the authoritative affected-product references.
Know when the next one hits your stack
- Watch products and get an email when something new is published
- Check this CVE against your own stack and servers
- Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
No credit card · 7-day full trial
Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Local link-following TOCTOU by an already-authorized low-privileged user (AV:L/PR:L) needing a triggering action (UI:R), yielding full host CIA impact with no scope change.
Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).
CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Improper link resolution before file access ('link following') in .NET allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
Executive ViewAI
Microsoft .NET and Visual Studio contain a high-severity local privilege-escalation flaw (CVE-2026-70190) that allows a low-privileged local user with the ability to plant symbolic links or junctions to gain elevated privileges when a privileged file operation is triggered. Affected environments include developer workstations and build servers running .NET 9.0, 10.0, or 11.0 and Visual Studio 2022 or 2026, where a successful exploit could give an attacker full control over the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the host. Leadership should prioritize patching because these systems frequently hold source code, signing keys, and deployment credentials that feed production systems.
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
Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.
EUVD-2026-99699
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
GitHub PoC
Exploit-DB