Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessGain low-privileged local foothold
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DeliveryCraft equivalent/alternate file path
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ExploitTrigger Backup Engine path resolution
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ExecutionRedirect privileged operation to attacker path
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ImpactExecute code or write as SYSTEM
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V5 - File Handling Path traversal prevention
|
| Exploitation Conditions | Requires the attacker to already have local, authenticated access to the target Windows host as a low-privileged user (CVSS AV:L/PR:L), and the exploit targets the Windows Backup Engine component specifically - the attacker must be able to influence a path that the Backup Engine resolves so that an equivalent path form points to attacker-controlled content. Exploitation does not require user interaction (UI:N) and works against default configurations where the Backup Engine runs, but it does not provide remote entry: the local-access and prior-authentication requirements are the primary limiting factors, confining realistic risk to multi-user systems, shared workstations, or hosts where an attacker has already established an unprivileged foothold. |
| Impact | This is a credible but not emergency-tier priority. The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, base 7.8 HIGH) is the canonical Microsoft local elevation-of-privilege profile: the attacker must already have local, authenticated access (PR:L) but then gains full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact - effectively SYSTEM-level compromise of the host. No EPSS score, CISA KEV listing, or public POC was provided in the intelligence, so by the available signals this is 'no public exploit identified at time of analysis' and there is no evidence of active exploitation or automatable mass abuse. The dominant limiting factor is the AV:L/PR:L requirement: the attacker needs a foothold first, so this is a second-stage/post-compromise escalation primitive rather than an initial access or wormable flaw. Note a data conflict: the input Tags label this 'Information Disclosure,' but both the description ('elevate privileges locally') and the CVSS impact (I:H/A:H, not confidentiality-only) indicate this is an elevation-of-privilege issue - treat the Information Disclosure tag as suspect. Given the absence of exploitation signals, this should be patched on the normal prioritized Patch-Tuesday cadence, with higher urgency on multi-user or shared Windows hosts where low-privileged users are present. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | A low-privileged local user (or malware already running in a standard user context) abuses a path-equivalence flaw (CWE-41) in the Windows Backup Engine to make the privileged service act on an attacker-controlled path, redirecting a trusted operation to a file or directory the attacker controls. This yields code execution or file manipulation at the Backup Engine's elevated privilege level, resulting in SYSTEM-level compromise. No public proof-of-concept was identified in the provided data. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 14, 2026
Local privilege escalation in Microsoft's Windows Backup Engine (CWE-41, path equivalence mis-resolution) allows an authenticated, low-privileged attacker with local access to a Windows host to gain elevated privileges by manipulating a path that the Backup Engine resolves to an equivalent but attacker-controlled location; exploitation requires no user interaction (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, 7.8). The attack surface is confined to hosts where an attacker already holds an unprivileged foothold, making multi-user systems, shared workstations, and terminal/RDP-style environments the realistic risk scenario rather than remote perimeter exposure. Microsoft has published fixed builds through the MSRC update guide, and no public exploit identified at time of analysis - no confirmed actively exploited (CISA KEV) status and no publicly available exploit code exists, so this is a credible but not emergency-tier patch-cycle priority.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: Microsoft has published fixes through the MSRC update guide (https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-70184) - apply the current cumulative update so the host reaches at least the fixed build for its release train: 10.0.19044.7807 for Windows 10 21H2/22H2, 10.0.22631.7652 for Windows 11 23H2, 10.0.26100.9711 for 24H2, 10.0.26200.9711 for 25H2, 10.0.26300.9711 for 26H2, and 10.0.28000.3231 for 26H1; verify with winver or Get-ComputerInfo after patching and prioritize shared/multi-user hosts first, since the exploit precondition is an existing unprivileged local foothold (AV:L/PR:L). If immediate patching is not possible, compensating controls with real trade-offs are: remove untrusted users from interactive logon on affected hosts (breaks shared-workstation and kiosk usage models); audit and minimize membership in Backup Operators and Administrators and restrict who can write to backup destination and staging directories (only partially effective, because the vulnerable resolution happens inside the privileged engine); or stop and disable the Windows Backup service and any scheduled image/file backup tasks on hosts that do not need it (Set-Service wbengine -StartupType Disabled), which removes the attack surface entirely at the cost of losing scheduled and system image backups - a clearly unacceptable trade-off on production servers. Because no public exploit code and no CISA KEV entry are associated with this CVE, remediation can follow the normal monthly patch cycle with monitoring for anomalous wbengine file writes or unexpected privilege changes in the interim.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 7 packages in euvd
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Technical ContextAI · show details
The root cause class is CWE-41, Improper Resolution of Path Equivalence, which arises when software compares, canonicalizes, or trusts path strings without normalizing equivalent representations of the same or a different location. Windows paths admit many equivalent forms - 8.3 short names (e.g. PROGRA~1), NTFS junctions and symbolic links, trailing dots or spaces, alternate data streams, case-insensitive matching, and NT-style device paths (\??\, \Device\) - and a component that resolves one form while a security check or file operation uses another becomes vulnerable to redirection. Here that logic lives in the Windows Backup Engine (wbengine), the service that performs image and file backups and therefore executes with high privilege while handling user- and system-influenced paths. By causing the engine to resolve a path to an equivalent form pointing at attacker-controlled content, a low-privileged local attacker can co-opt the privileged backup operation - for example to have protected files overwritten or read - achieving elevation to SYSTEM-level integrity. Per the authoritative assessment, the vector is AV:L/PR:L/UI:N, so no user interaction is needed and default configurations where the Backup Engine runs are in scope, but the vulnerability provides no remote entry point; the CPE-reported platform scope spans Windows 10 21H2/22H2 and Windows 11 23H2, 24H2, 25H2, 26H1, and 26H2 builds below their respective fixed build levels. The accompanying 'Information Disclosure' tag is consistent with the path-equivalence family, since mis-resolved paths can also expose file contents, though the assessed CVSS impact is full on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
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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 full SYSTEM-level C/I/A impact within the same scope.
Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).
CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Improper resolution of path equivalence in Windows Backup Engine allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
Executive ViewAI
A high-severity flaw in Microsoft Windows Backup Engine could allow an attacker who already holds a low-privileged local foothold on a Windows host to elevate to system or administrator-level control without user interaction. The practical exposure is concentrated in shared workstations, jump boxes, terminal servers, and RDP environments, where one compromised user session can become a full host compromise and enable broader data access or lateral movement. Patch available per vendor advisory and no public exploit identified at time of analysis, so leadership should treat this as a priority patch-cycle item rather than an emergency remote-threat response.
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.
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EUVD-2026-100129
GHSA-w6gw-x9rc-48qx
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB