Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).
CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft
Lifecycle Timeline
8DescriptionCVE.org
Protection mechanism failure in Windows Shell allows an unauthorized attacker to perform spoofing over a network.
Articles & Coverage 1
AnalysisAI
Windows Shell protection mechanism failure (CVE-2026-32202) allows remote attackers to perform spoofing attacks over a network without authentication, requiring only user interaction. This low-severity vulnerability affects multiple Windows versions from Windows 10 1607 through Windows 11 26H1 and Windows Server 2012 through 2025. While not actively exploited in the wild, vendor patches are available across all affected versions, and the low CVSS score (4.3) reflects limited confidentiality impact and no availability impact despite the network-accessible attack vector.
Technical ContextAI
The vulnerability resides in Windows Shell's protection mechanisms, specifically a failure in how the shell validates or enforces security boundaries (CWE-693: Protection Mechanism Failure). Windows Shell is the core user interface component responsible for file browsing, application launching, and user-system interactions. The spoofing capability suggests an attacker can impersonate or misrepresent content through the shell interface. The network attack vector combined with user interaction requirement indicates the attack likely involves crafted network content or specially formed inputs that deceive the shell's trust mechanisms. The root cause classification under CWE-693 indicates the security control itself is flawed rather than bypassed through a traditional code execution pathway.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch available per Microsoft Security Response Center. Organizations should apply Windows updates containing the cumulative security patches for their respective OS versions, using the build numbers specified in the EUVD data as minimum patched versions (for example, Windows 10 Version 22H2 requires 10.0.19045.7184 or later). Updates can be deployed via Windows Update, WSUS, or manual patch installation from the Microsoft Update Catalog. For organizations unable to patch immediately, restrict network access to untrusted sources and educate users to avoid interacting with suspicious shell content or file operations from unknown origins. Consult https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-32202 for specific patch delivery timelines and https://vuldb.com/vuln/357515 for additional mitigation context.
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Same weakness CWE-693 – Protection Mechanism Failure
View allSame technique Authentication Bypass
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External POC / Exploit Code
Leaving vuln.today
EUVD-2026-22589
GHSA-x62h-w968-3v9v