Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessObtain authenticated local access
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DeliveryCraft malicious NTFS input/metadata
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ExploitTrigger untrusted pointer dereference in NTFS driver
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ExecutionCorrupt kernel memory and execute code
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ImpactElevate to SYSTEM-level control
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Untrusted pointer prevention
|
| Exploitation Conditions | Requires the attacker to already have local, authenticated access to the Windows host with high privileges (CVSS PR:H), and to reach the vulnerable NTFS driver code path with crafted input that causes the untrusted pointer dereference (CWE-822). Limiting factors: no remote network vector (AV:L), so it cannot be triggered across the network and is unsuitable for initial access - it serves as a post-compromise escalation/execution primitive. No user interaction is needed (UI:N) and attack complexity is low (AC:L) once local access is held. Affected and unpatched builds span Windows 10/11 (1607 through 26H2) and Windows Server 2012 through 2025; applying the vendor update (e.g., Server 2025 ≥10.0.26100.33650, Win11 24H2/25H2 ≥10.0.26100.9711) removes the condition. |
| Impact | This is a moderate-priority local privilege-escalation/code-execution flaw that does NOT rise to emergency status despite a HIGH technical impact. The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N) requires local access and, per Microsoft's own scoring, high existing privileges, which caps the base score at 6.7 (Medium) even though confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts are all HIGH. CISA's SSVC framework aligns with a low-urgency posture: Exploitation=none (no observed exploitation), Automatable=no (cannot be reliably mass-scripted), and Technical Impact=total. There is no CISA KEV listing and no public proof-of-concept identified in the provided data, so the current status is 'no public exploit identified at time of analysis.' An EPSS score was not supplied and therefore cannot corroborate exploitation likelihood. One internal inconsistency should be flagged: the input Tags include 'Information Disclosure,' but the description states the vulnerability 'allows an authorized attacker to execute code locally' and the vector shows I:H/A:H - this is code execution / elevation of privilege, not merely information disclosure, so the tag appears mislabeled and should not drive triage. Net assessment: a credible post-compromise or insider escalation vector worth patching in normal cycles, not a drop-everything issue absent evidence of exploitation. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker who already has authenticated local access to a Windows host (e.g., a standard foothold from phishing or a low-privilege service account) crafts input that triggers an untrusted pointer dereference in the NTFS driver, corrupting kernel-controlled memory to execute arbitrary code and elevate privileges. Because AV:L/PR:H applies, this is a local, privilege-dependent operation rather than a remote drive-by, and no user interaction is required (UI:N). No public exploit code is identified at time of analysis. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 14, 2026
Untrusted pointer dereference in the Windows NTFS file system driver allows a locally authenticated attacker who already holds elevated privileges on the host to execute code, with full impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected system. Because the attack vector is local (AV:L) and requires high privileges (PR:H) with no user interaction (UI:N) and low complexity (AC:L) once those prerequisites are met, the flaw functions as a post-compromise escalation and code-execution primitive rather than an initial-access or remote vector, and it cannot be triggered across the network. No public exploit code and no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation have been identified at time of analysis, and Microsoft has published fixed builds covering all affected Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server platforms.
RemediationAI
Patch status is 'Patch available per vendor advisory' - Microsoft has released fixed builds for every affected platform, documented at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-69902. Apply the vendor update to at least the following build thresholds: Windows Server 2025 (including Server Core) 10.0.26100.33650, Windows 11 24H2 10.0.26100.9711 and 25H2 10.0.26200.9711, Windows 11 26H2 10.0.26300.9711, 26H1 10.0.28000.3231 and 23H2 10.0.22631.7652, Windows 10 21H2 10.0.19044.7807 and 1809/Server 2019 10.0.17763.9376, Windows 10 1607 and Server 2016 10.0.14393.9612, Windows Server 2022 10.0.20348.5761, Windows Server 2012 6.2.9200.26434 and Server 2012 R2 6.3.9600.23470; legacy platforms such as Server 2012/2012 R2 require the applicable extended-support update to be installed first. Because exploitation requires local elevated access, the practical interim mitigations are privilege and exposure reductions rather than network controls: tightly restrict which accounts hold local administrator or SYSTEM-equivalent rights (this directly removes the PR:H prerequisite, at the cost of operational friction for administrative workflows), and prevent non-privileged or untrusted users from supplying NTFS-formatted media - removable drives, VHD/VHDX images, ISO or backup archives - that get mounted or scanned by a privileged process, since that is the most plausible route to feed crafted metadata into the driver; the trade-off is reduced flexibility for imaging, backup and forensic workflows. Where feasible, enforce application allowlisting and EDR kernel-level telemetry tuned to driver crashes (bug checks) and unusual mount operations to catch attempts at this primitive, and monitor for follow-on privilege escalation after any low-privilege-to-high-privilege boundary crossing. No public exploit code was identified at time of analysis, but patching should be scheduled as a normal monthly update priority rather than emergency remediation, and any system that cannot be updated should be treated as an escalation path to be hardened via least privilege and restricted media handling.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 20 packages in euvd
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Technical ContextAI · show details
The vulnerability is a CWE-822 untrusted pointer dereference in the Windows NTFS kernel driver stack (NTFS is implemented primarily in ntfs.sys, a kernel-mode file system driver). In this class of defect, the driver accepts a pointer, or derives one via arithmetic, from data that is not fully validated before dereferencing it, so crafted on-disk metadata or file system operations can steer an access to an attacker-chosen address; in kernel mode that typically results in memory corruption that can be shaped into arbitrary code execution at the highest privilege level. The flaw lives in a component that parses attacker-influenceable input from NTFS volumes and file operations, which is why exploitation requires the attacker to already be on the machine with sufficient rights to reach that code path or to induce a privileged process to handle crafted NTFS input. The CPE/version data shows the vulnerable code is present across the entire modern Windows servicing train, from Windows 10 version 1607 (10.0.14393) and Server 2012 (6.2.9200) through Windows 11 versions 23H2, 24H2, 25H2, 26H1 and 26H2 and Windows Server 2025 (10.0.26100), including Server Core installation options, indicating a long-lived shared NTFS code base rather than a single SKU regression. Per the independent assessment, no remote network path exists (AV:L) and no user interaction is needed (UI:N), and the SSVC evaluation records exploitation as none and automatable as no, with total technical impact should the condition be reached.
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Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Local-only NTFS code path (AV:L) reachable by an authenticated user to escalate (PR:L is defensible for an EoP primitive), low complexity, no UI, full CIA impact via kernel code execution.
Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).
CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Untrusted pointer dereference in Windows NTFS allows an authorized attacker to execute code locally.
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
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EUVD-2026-100116
GHSA-w2gh-6prw-64p7
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB