Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
-
AccessGain local user access
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ExploitTrigger concurrent Windows Push Notifications processing
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ExecutionExploit race condition in shared resource
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ImpactEscalate privileges to SYSTEM
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2025 - Insecure Design
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Concurrency control, locking
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 | Authenticated local user account required. Windows Push Notifications service must be actively processing concurrent notification requests. High attack complexity due to timing-dependent race condition window. |
| Impact | Real-world risk assessment reveals moderate-to-high priority despite impressive CVSS 7.8 score. The CVSS vector shows high attack complexity (AC:H) requiring precise timing exploitation of narrow race windows-typically requiring multiple attempts or detailed system knowledge. Local attack vector (AV:L) and low privilege requirement (PR:L) mean attackers must first obtain user-level access through phishing, supply chain compromise, or other initial access techniques, significantly reducing attack surface compared to remote vulnerabilities. No KEV listing indicates CISA has not observed active exploitation in federal networks. No public exploit code identified, though race conditions are well-understood vulnerability classes with established exploitation techniques. The scope change (S:C) and complete CIA impact (C:H/I:H/A:H) make this attractive for post-exploitation lateral movement and persistence establishment. SSVC assessment: Exploitation status = none, Automatable = no (requires local access and timing precision), Technical Impact = total (full system compromise possible). Priority context: High value for APT actors already possessing initial access to Windows environments who need privilege escalation, but not a tier-one patching emergency given local-only vector and exploitation complexity. Organizations should prioritize based on exposure of workstations/servers where untrusted users have local logon rights (shared workstations, jump hosts, terminal servers). The breadth of affected versions-spanning 6+ years of Windows releases-increases organizational exposure surface. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | Authenticated local user repeatedly triggers overlapping push notification operations to create race condition in shared resource synchronization. Attacker exploits timing gap to escalate privileges from user to SYSTEM before synchronization locks properly engage, gaining full system control. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Apr 14, 2026
Local privilege escalation in Windows Push Notifications service affects Windows 10 (1809-22H2), Windows 11 (22H3-26H1), and Windows Server 2019-2025 via race condition in shared resource synchronization. Low-privileged authenticated users can exploit timing vulnerabilities in notification handling to elevate to SYSTEM-level privileges with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact (scope change to other security contexts). CVSS 7.8 (high complexity, local vector). Vendor-released
Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
Local privilege escalation in Windows Push Notifications service affects Windows 10 (1809-22H2), Windows 11 (22H3-26H1), and Windows Server 2019-2025 via race condition in shared resource synchronization. Low-privileged authenticated users can exploit timing vulnerabilities in notification handling to elevate to SYSTEM-level privileges with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact (scope change to other security contexts). CVSS 7.8 (high complexity, local vector). Vendor-released patches available for all affected versions. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, though CVSS AC:H indicates successful exploitation requires precise timing and specific system state conditions.
RemediationAI
Apply vendor-released security updates immediately via Windows Update or WSUS infrastructure. Patched versions: Windows 10 1809 build 10.0.17763.8644 or later, Windows 10 21H2 build 10.0.19044.7184 or later, Windows 10 22H2 build 10.0.19045.7184 or later, Windows 11 22H3/23H2 build 10.0.22631.6936 or later, Windows 11 24H2 build 10.0.26100.32690 or later, Windows 11 25H2 build 10.0.26200.8246 or later, Windows 11 26H1 build 10.0.28000.1836 or later, Windows Server 2019 build 10.0.17763.8644 or later, Windows Server 2022 build 10.0.20348.5020 or later, Windows Server 2022 23H2 Edition build 10.0.25398.2274 or later, Windows Server 2025 build 10.0.26100.32690 or later. Install patches from Microsoft's March 2026 Patch Tuesday release cycle. No workarounds identified; mitigation relies on kernel-level synchronization fixes. Organizations unable to patch immediately should enforce least-privilege principles, restrict local logon rights to trusted users only, enable Windows
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 25 packages in microsoft, euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
This vulnerability exploits a classic race condition (CWE-362) in Windows Push Notifications Platform User Service (WpnUserService), a component responsible for managing notification delivery and display across Windows desktop and server environments. Race conditions occur when multiple threads or processes access shared resources without proper synchronization primitives (mutexes, semaphores, critical sections). The Windows notification subsystem handles inter-process communication between applications requesting notifications and system-level services rendering them, creating windows of opportunity where Time-Of-Check-Time-Of-Use (TOCTOU) attacks can occur. An attacker with low-privilege local access can manipulate the timing of concurrent notification requests to corrupt shared memory structures, bypass security checks, or hijack privileged operations performed by the SYSTEM-context notification service. The scope change (S:C) in CVSS indicates the vulnerability allows escaping the security boundary of the WpnUserService process to impact other Windows subsystems. The affected CPE strings confirm impact across the entire modern Windows ecosystem from legacy 1809 builds through current 26H1 preview releases, including Server Core installations lacking GUI components but still running notification infrastructure for administrative alerts.
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- Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
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Severity by source
AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).
CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Concurrent execution using shared resource with improper synchronization ('race condition') in Windows Push Notifications allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
Executive ViewAI
CVE-2026-32160 is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in Windows Push Notifications affecting Windows 10, 11, and Server 2019-2025, allowing authenticated users to gain SYSTEM-level access through a race condition. This directly threatens any organization running affected Windows versions, as compromised standard user accounts can escalate to full administrative control, enabling lateral movement, data exfiltration, and persistent malware installation across the infrastructure.
Apply vendor patch. Interim mitigation pending patch deployment: restrict local user logon privileges via Group Policy (remove from local Administrators and Power Users groups where feasible), disable Windows Push Notification service if operationally acceptable, and enforce multi-factor authentication for all administrative access to limit lateral movement post-exploitation.
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.
Race conditions occur when multiple concurrent requests exploit the brief time gap between checking a condition and acting upon it (TOCTOU - Time of Check, Time of Use).
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NVD
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