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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Obtain local low-privileged access
  2. Delivery
    Supply crafted UDF volume/image to driver
  3. Exploit
    Trigger use-after-free in UDFS
  4. Execution
    Corrupt kernel object for arbitrary R/W
  5. Impact
    Elevate to SYSTEM privileges

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Memory lifecycle management
MITRE ATT&CK

2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Privilege Escalation

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Exploitation Conditions

Requires local access with at least low-privilege execution on the target (PR:L, AV:L) and the ability to make the Universal Disk Format File System driver (UDFS.sys) parse attacker-controlled UDF data - typically by mounting a crafted UDF-formatted optical disc, ISO, VHD, or removable volume/image, which forces the vulnerable file-system parser to process malicious structures. Limiting factors: the attacker must already be authenticated on the machine and able to trigger UDF mounting/parsing; there is no remote or unauthenticated path and no automatic drive-by vector from the network. Affects default configurations of all listed supported Windows 10/11 and Windows Server builds below the patched versions, since UDFS is a standard OS component.

Impact

This is a credible but not emergency-level priority. The CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 (High) is driven by full CIA impact (C:H/I:H/A:H) with low attack complexity, but the vector is explicitly local (AV:L) and requires existing low-level privileges (PR:L) - it is a privilege-escalation primitive, not a remote-compromise vector. There is no EPSS score in the input, no CISA KEV listing, and no public POC indicated, so exploitation probability signals are absent rather than elevated; per the precision rules this means 'no public exploit identified at time of analysis.' No SSVC decision data was provided. The one tension in the data is the 'Denial Of Service' tag, which conflicts with the description's stated impact of local privilege elevation - a CWE-416 use-after-free can plausibly manifest as both a crash (DoS) and a code-execution/EoP condition, so this is not necessarily an error, but the authoritative description and CVSS both point to EoP as the primary outcome. Overall: a real patch-worthy issue for any multi-user or defense-in-depth Windows environment, but lower urgency than a network-reachable or unauthenticated flaw, and best treated as a second-stage escalation risk rather than an initial access vector.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker who already has low-privileged code execution on a Windows host (e.g., via phishing, a standard user account, or a prior foothold) triggers the UDFS driver by causing a crafted UDF-formatted volume or disk image to be parsed/mounted, driving a use-after-free in kernel memory. By grooming the freed object, they achieve arbitrary kernel-mode read/write and escalate to SYSTEM. No public exploit code is identified in the provided data, so weaponization effort would currently fall on the attacker.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available 0.3% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Oct 13, 2026

Local privilege escalation in the Windows Universal Disk Format File System Driver (UDFS.sys) allows an authenticated attacker with low-privilege code execution to trigger a use-after-free by coaxing the kernel driver into parsing attacker-controlled UDF data, typically via a crafted optical disc, ISO, VHD, or removable volume/image; successful exploitation yields high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact at SYSTEM level (CVSS 7.8, CWE-416). Default installations of Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server 2012 through 2025 are affected below the fixed build numbers listed in the vendor data. There is no remote or unauthenticated path and no drive-by network vector, and no public exploit identified at time of analysis; the primary constraint is that the attacker must already hold a foothold and be able to force UDFS mount/parse operations.

RemediationAI

Microsoft has released a vendor patch, available per the Security Update Guide at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-96950; remediation is to apply the current cumulative update so each affected build reaches or exceeds the fixed level shown in the EUVD data - for example 10.0.14393.9612 for Windows 10 1607 / Server 2016, 10.0.17763.9376 for Windows 10 1809 / Server 2019, 10.0.19044.7807 or 10.0.19045.7807 for Windows 10 21H2 / 22H2, 10.0.20348.5761 for Server 2022, 10.0.26100.33650 for Server 2025, and 10.0.22631.7652, 10.0.26100.9711, 10.0.26200.9711, 10.0.26300.9711, or 10.0.28000.3231 for the affected Windows 11 releases. Because exploitation requires the attacker to make UDFS parse hostile data, the most effective compensating control until patching is to eliminate the attack surface: prevent standard users from mounting untrusted UDF/ISO/VHD images and avoid opening or auto-mounting optical media and disk images from untrusted sources (a policy restriction on image mounting and disabling AutoPlay/AutoRun reduces reachability without breaking the OS, though it does affect legitimate ISO workflows for those users). As a heavier measure on high-value systems, the UDFS driver can be disabled by setting its service Start value to 4 (or the driver file moved aside to a backup location) from an elevated prompt followed by a reboot; the trade-off is that all UDF-formatted optical media, ISO images, and any volumes relying on UDFS will become unreadable on that host, so this should be validated against operational needs. Additionally, since the assessed vector requires PR:L, aggressively restricting which accounts and processes can execute on interactive or shared systems limits the low-privilege foothold needed to trigger the bug. No public exploit code was identified at time of analysis, so these controls address a latent, locally-reachable risk rather than an active campaign.

Affected VersionsENISA

Windows 10 Version 1809 10.0.17763.0 <10.0.17763.9376
Windows Server 2016 (Server Core installation) 10.0.14393.0 <10.0.14393.9612
Windows 11 version 26H1 10.0.28000.0 <10.0.28000.3231
Windows 11 Version 26H2 10.0.26300.0 <10.0.26300.9711
Windows Server 2019 10.0.17763.0 <10.0.17763.9376
Windows 11 Version 24H2 10.0.26100.0 <10.0.26100.9711
Windows 11 Version 23H2 10.0.22631.0 <10.0.22631.7652
Windows 11 Version 25H2 10.0.26200.0 <10.0.26200.9711
Windows Server 2025 (Server Core installation) 10.0.26100.0 <10.0.26100.33650
Windows Server 2012 R2 6.3.9600.0 <6.3.9600.23470
Windows Server 2025 10.0.26100.0 <10.0.26100.33650
Windows 10 Version 22H2 10.0.19045.0 <10.0.19044.7807
Windows 10 Version 21H2 10.0.19044.0 <10.0.19044.7807
Windows Server 2012 6.2.9200.0 <6.2.9200.26434
Windows Server 2022 10.0.20348.0 <10.0.20348.5761
Windows Server 2016 10.0.14393.0 <10.0.14393.9612
Windows Server 2012 (Server Core installation) 6.2.9200.0 <6.2.9200.26434
Windows 10 Version 1607 10.0.14393.0 <10.0.14393.9612
Windows Server 2012 R2 (Server Core installation) 6.3.9600.0 <6.3.9600.23470
Windows Server 2019 (Server Core installation) 10.0.17763.0 <10.0.17763.9376

Affected Packages

euvd windows_10_version_1607 fix: 10.0.14393.9612
euvd windows_10_version_1809 fix: 10.0.17763.9376
euvd windows_10_version_21h2 fix: 10.0.19044.7807
euvd windows_10_version_22h2 fix: 10.0.19044.7807
euvd windows_11_version_23h2 fix: 10.0.22631.7652
euvd windows_11_version_24h2 fix: 10.0.26100.9711
euvd windows_11_version_25h2 fix: 10.0.26200.9711
euvd windows_11_version_26h1 fix: 10.0.28000.3231
euvd windows_11_version_26h2 fix: 10.0.26300.9711
euvd windows_server_2012 fix: 6.2.9200.26434
euvd windows_server_2012_r2 fix: 6.3.9600.23470
euvd windows_server_2012_r2_server_core_installation fix: 6.3.9600.23470
euvd windows_server_2012_server_core_installation fix: 6.2.9200.26434
euvd windows_server_2016 fix: 10.0.14393.9612
euvd windows_server_2016_server_core_installation fix: 10.0.14393.9612
euvd windows_server_2019 fix: 10.0.17763.9376
euvd windows_server_2019_server_core_installation fix: 10.0.17763.9376
euvd windows_server_2022 fix: 10.0.20348.5761
euvd windows_server_2025 fix: 10.0.26100.33650
euvd windows_server_2025_server_core_installation fix: 10.0.26100.33650

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 20 packages in euvd

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

UDFS.sys is the kernel-mode Universal Disk Format File System Driver in Windows, responsible for parsing the UDF format (ISO 13346 / ECMA-167) used by optical media, ISO images, and certain virtual or removable volumes. The flaw is a use-after-free (CWE-416): the driver releases a memory object - such as a file control block, directory entry, or metadata descriptor structure produced during UDF parsing - yet retains and later dereferences that pointer while continuing to process crafted on-disk structures (malicious allocation descriptors, ICBs, directory entries, or extended attributes). Because the affected code resides in kernel mode, reliable reallocation of the freed object with attacker-influenced content can convert the dangling pointer into controlled memory corruption and code execution in the kernel context, which is also why the report carries memory-corruption and denial-of-service tags in addition to the privilege-elevation classification. The assessed vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) confirms the weakness is only reachable by an already-authenticated local user and that no user interaction or network exposure is required, and the scope is unchanged (S:U), i.e., exploitation stays within the same security authority as the vulnerable component. UDFS is a standard, enabled OS component, so no special configuration is needed to reach the vulnerable parser beyond the ability to mount or insert UDF-formatted media or images.

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Severity by source

Vendor (microsoft) PRIMARY 7.8 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
vuln.today AI 7.8 HIGH

Local-only kernel UAF reachable by an authenticated low-privilege user triggering UDF parsing (AV:L, PR:L, AC:L), yielding SYSTEM-level control, hence C:H/I:H/A:H and scope unchanged.

3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.0 AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).

CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

2
Patch available
Oct 13, 2026 - 20:20 EUVD
CVE Published
Oct 13, 2026 - 19:22 cve.org
HIGH 7.8

DescriptionCVE.org

Use after free in Windows Universal Disk Format File System Driver (UDFS) allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

A local privilege-escalation flaw in the Microsoft Windows Universal Disk Format File System Driver affects default installations of Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server 2012 through 2025 that are below the vendor's fixed build numbers. An attacker who already has a low-privilege foothold on a machine could elevate to SYSTEM-level control by having the system process a crafted disk image, putting affected endpoints and servers at risk of full host compromise. Because no public exploit was identified at the time of analysis and the issue requires local access, leadership should prioritize patching known affected systems rather than treating this as an immediate network-wide emergency.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.3%
Top 77% exploitable
Prevalence
Ubiquitous
core Windows OS component across all supported desktop and server editions
Vendor Status
Publicly Disclosed:No
Exploited:No
Latest Software Release:Exploitation Less Likely
Data Quality
5 sources
Confidence: Medium

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.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.3%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision
Defer
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable
No
Human Impact
High
Technical Impact
Total

Priority Score

39
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +39
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Use-after-free vulnerabilities occur when a program continues to access memory through a pointer after that memory has been deallocated.

Memory corruption occurs when a program writes data beyond the boundaries of allocated memory regions or accesses memory in unintended ways, violating the integrity of the process's address space.

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

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