Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessObtain low-privileged local access
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DeliveryInvoke Windows Device Install Service
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ExploitAbuse incorrect authorization check
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ExecutionExecute operations as elevated/SYSTEM
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ImpactFull host compromise
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Authorization logic validation
MITRE ATT&CK
1 technique across 1 tactic: Privilege Escalation The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires local access to an affected Windows host with at least low-level privileges (PR:L) - the attacker must already be able to execute code as an authenticated standard user, so this is a post-foothold escalation rather than remote exploitation. The specific trigger is the Windows Device Install Service performing an incorrect authorization check (CWE-863); the description does not require any non-default configuration or user interaction (UI:N), meaning default installations are affected. Limiting factors that reduce real-world risk: there is no remote/network vector (AV:L), the attacker needs valid local credentials or an existing foothold, scope is unchanged (S:U), and SSVC indicates it is not automatable. |
| Impact | This is a locally-exploitable elevation-of-privilege flaw (CVSS 3.1 vector AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H = 7.8 High) rooted in incorrect authorization (CWE-863) within the Windows Device Install Service. The CVSS vector confirms an authenticated low-privileged local attacker (PR:L) can achieve full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact (C:H/I:H/A:H) with low attack complexity and no user interaction. Multiple exploitation signals agree that this is NOT an urgent emergency: CISA SSVC rates Exploitation as 'none' and Automatable as 'no', there is no CISA KEV listing, and no public exploit code was identified in the provided data - consistent with a low (though not provided numerically) real-world exploitation likelihood. Counterbalancing that, SSVC Technical Impact is 'total', matching the C:H/I:H/A:H triad, and a vendor patch is available, so this is a genuine patch-worthy local privilege-escalation primitive rather than a false-positive high-CVSS issue. The realistic priority is medium: it requires the attacker to already have a foothold with valid low-privileged credentials on the host, so it is a post-compromise escalation step (useful in chained attacks) rather than a remotely-wormable threat. EPSS score was not provided in the input and should be checked to refine prioritization. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker who has already gained an unprivileged foothold on a Windows host - for example via phishing, a stolen standard-user credential, or a compromised service account - invokes the Windows Device Install Service and abuses its incorrect authorization check to run code or operations at SYSTEM/elevated privilege. No user interaction is required and attack complexity is low, but local access with at least low privileges is mandatory. No public proof-of-concept exploit was identified at the time of analysis. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 14, 2026
Local privilege escalation in the Windows Device Install Service lets an authenticated attacker holding only low-level privileges on a host raise their rights to a higher integrity level (CVSS 3.1 base 7.8 High, AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H). The flaw is an incorrect authorization check (CWE-863) in a service that normally runs with high privileges, so any standard user who can already execute code - or plug in or trigger a device installation - on an unpatched Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows Server 2022, or Windows Server 2025 system is a potential victim; default configurations are affected and no user interaction is needed. Microsoft has published a fix, and there is no public exploit identified at time of analysis and no CISA KEV listing or SSVC exploitation signal, though the SSVC technical impact rating is "total" because successful exploitation yields high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact within the same security scope.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: Microsoft has published fixed builds for every affected branch through the MSRC update guide (https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-83792) - update Windows 10 21H2/22H2 to build 10.0.19044.7807 or later, Windows 11 23H2 to 10.0.22631.7652 or later, Windows 11 24H2 to 10.0.26100.9711 or later, Windows 11 25H2 to 10.0.26200.9711 or later, Windows 11 26H1 to 10.0.28000.3231 or later, Windows 11 26H2 to 10.0.26300.9711 or later, Windows Server 2022 to 10.0.20348.5761 or later, and Windows Server 2025 (including Server Core) to 10.0.26100.33650 or later; apply via Windows Update, WSUS, or your standard patch-management pipeline, and prioritize hosts where untrusted or low-privileged users have interactive or remote-code execution footholds. Because this is a local elevation of privilege requiring PR:L and no user interaction, there is no reliable configuration switch that removes the exposure - disabling or setting the Device Install Service to Manual with a restricted ACL (sc.exe config DeviceInstall start= demand plus a tightened service DACL) can raise the bar, but the trade-off is that legitimate Plug-and-Play driver installation and some device-enumeration workflows will fail or require administrator intervention, and the service may be re-enabled by servicing operations. Additional compensating controls with their own trade-offs include enforcing least-privilege and removing unnecessary local interactive users, blocking non-administrator driver installation via policy (e.g., restricting INF installation to administrators, which breaks user-initiated hardware setup), applying WDAC/AppLocker allowlisting that blocks arbitrary binaries from being dropped and executed during device-install chains (which can cause operational friction with legitimate software installs), and monitoring the Device Install Service and driver-install events for anomalous elevation attempts. No public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis, so patching cadence should follow standard risk-based prioritization rather than emergency response.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 10 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 Windows Device Install Service (DeviceInstall) is a privileged, system-level service responsible for detecting new devices and installing the appropriate drivers when hardware is attached or enumerated, meaning it processes driver-package (INF) and device-installation operations on behalf of the user. CVE-2026-83792 is a CWE-863 incorrect-authorization defect: the service fails to properly validate that the caller has the rights required for the operation it is asked to perform, so a low-privileged local principal (PR:L per the CVSS vector) can induce the privileged service to perform an action it should not authorize. Because the service operates at high integrity, the resulting escalation carries full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact (C:H/I:H/A:H) while remaining within the same authorization scope (S:U), which is why the score is 7.8 rather than a scope-changed 8.x. The attack is local only (AV:L), needs no user interaction (UI:N) or non-default configuration, is assessed as not automatable, and therefore represents a post-compromise escalation step for an attacker who already has a foothold or valid low-privilege credentials on the machine rather than a network-reachable initial access vector.
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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 requiring an existing low-privileged foothold (AV:L, PR:L), no user interaction, yielding total impact (C/I/A:H) matching SSVC Technical Impact 'total'.
Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).
CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Incorrect authorization in Windows Device Install Service allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
Executive ViewAI
A high-severity local privilege escalation flaw in the Windows Device Install Service affects default installations of Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows Server 2022, and Windows Server 2025, letting any user who already has standard access on a machine raise their rights to a high-integrity level. For leadership, this means an existing foothold - a compromised laptop, a shared server session, a low-privileged service account - can be turned into full administrative control of the host, which is the typical springboard for credential theft, lateral movement, and ransomware staging. Microsoft has released a fix and no public exploit has been identified at time of analysis, so this is a patch-management obligation rather than an active incident.
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
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EUVD-2026-100003
GHSA-cj3g-xccp-pr9q
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB