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Windows Administrator Protection EUVDEUVD-2026-35534

| CVE-2026-42829 HIGH
Improper Access Control (CWE-284)
2026-06-09 secure@microsoft.com GHSA-72vq-h3jr-52x8
7.8
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: microsoft
Temporal: 6.8
View

Attack ChainAIDerived

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

  1. Access
    Obtain low-priv foothold on Windows host
  2. Delivery
    Enumerate Administrator Protection state
  3. Exploit
    Invoke bypass against access-control check
  4. Execution
    Acquire elevated admin context
  5. Persist
    Disable endpoint defenses and persist
  6. Impact
    Lateral movement using elevated token

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Access control enforcement
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Defense Evasion

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

Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires local code execution on a Windows host where the Administrator Protection security feature is present and enabled, and the attacker must already hold a low-privileged authenticated context on that host (CVSS PR:L) - purely remote or fully unauthenticated exploitation is not in scope. No user interaction is required (UI:N) and attack complexity is low (AC:L), so once a foothold exists the bypass is reliable. Limiting factors that reduce real-world exposure: the attacker needs prior local access, the target Windows build must actually ship Administrator Protection (a relatively new feature, not present on legacy Windows 10 or older Server SKUs), and hosts where the feature is disabled in policy are not affected by this specific bypass.

Impact

The CVSS 3.1 vector AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H indicates a local attack vector with low complexity, requiring low (but non-zero) privileges and no user interaction, yielding high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability - a classic local privilege-escalation profile rather than a remote RCE. The vulnerability is not listed in CISA KEV and no public exploit identified at time of analysis, and EPSS data was not provided in the input, so widespread opportunistic exploitation appears unlikely in the immediate term. However, Microsoft-reported LPE bugs in Windows security features are frequently chained behind initial-access malware (phishing, browser exploits), so realistic risk is higher than the raw 'local' label suggests in enterprise fleets. Key data gap: the description states 'bypass a security feature' but does not specify whether the bypass yields full SYSTEM, full admin token, or only a narrower control evasion - verify against the MSRC advisory before prioritization.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker who has already obtained low-privileged code execution on a Windows endpoint - for example via a phishing payload, a malicious document, or a compromised standard-user account - invokes a crafted sequence against the Administrator Protection feature to bypass its authorization check and elevate to administrative context without legitimate consent. From there the attacker disables endpoint defenses, installs persistence, and pivots laterally using the elevated token. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, but the low attack complexity (AC:L) and absence of user interaction (UI:N) make this an attractive second-stage primitive once it is publicly documented.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available 0.1% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Jun 09, 2026

Local privilege escalation in Windows Administrator Protection allows an authorized attacker with low-privilege access to bypass a security feature on affected Windows systems. The flaw stems from improper access control (CWE-284) in the Administrator Protection mechanism, and while no public exploit identified at time of analysis, the high CVSS 7.8 reflects the meaningful impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability once the bypass is achieved. The issue was reported by Microsoft (secure@microsoft.com) and is tracked through MSRC rather than CISA KEV.

RemediationAI

Patch available per vendor advisory - apply the Microsoft security update referenced at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-42829 via Windows Update or WSUS as soon as the patch row for your specific Windows build is identified in the MSRC update guide. As a compensating control until patching, restrict local interactive logon to trusted administrative users (Group Policy: 'Allow log on locally' and 'Deny log on locally'), enforce strong endpoint controls (EDR with behavioral detection for token manipulation and UAC/Administrator Protection bypass primitives), and where operationally acceptable disable or restrict the Administrator Protection feature on hosts where it is not yet relied upon, accepting the trade-off that you lose the security benefit the feature provides. Reduce the population of accounts holding any local privileges on sensitive hosts, since the attack requires PR:L, not PR:N.

Affected VersionsENISA

Windows 11 version 26H1 10.0.28000.0 <10.0.28000.2269
Windows 11 Version 24H2 10.0.26100.0 <10.0.26100.8655
Windows 11 Version 25H2 10.0.26200.0 <10.0.26200.8655

Affected Packages

microsoft windows_11_version_24h2_10_0_26100_8655 fix: Windows 11 Version 24H2 for ARM64-based Systems 10.0.26100.8655, Windows 11 Version 24H2 for x64-based Systems 10.0.26100.8655
microsoft windows_11_version_25h2_10_0_26200_8655 fix: Windows 11 Version 25H2 for ARM64-based Systems 10.0.26200.8655, Windows 11 Version 25H2 for x64-based Systems 10.0.26200.8655
microsoft windows_11_version_26h1_10_0_28000_2269 fix: Windows 11 Version 26H1 for ARM64-based Systems 10.0.28000.2269, Windows 11 version 26H1 for x64-based Systems 10.0.28000.2269
euvd windows_11_version_24h2 fix: 10.0.26100.8655
euvd windows_11_version_25h2 fix: 10.0.26200.8655
euvd windows_11_version_26h1 fix: 10.0.28000.2269

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 6 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

Windows Administrator Protection is a Microsoft security feature designed to provide just-in-time administrative privileges to local users, requiring authentication for sensitive admin operations rather than granting persistent admin tokens. The underlying weakness is CWE-284 (Improper Access Control), meaning the protection layer fails to consistently enforce authorization boundaries between standard-user and admin contexts. Because Administrator Protection sits between user-mode requests and protected system resources, a defect in its access-control logic can allow operations the feature was specifically designed to gate. No specific CPE strings were published in the available NVD reference data, so exact build numbers must be retrieved from the MSRC advisory.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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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
CIRCL (temporal) 6.8 MEDIUM

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
Jun 09, 2026 - 19:03 EUVD
CVE Published
Jun 09, 2026 - 17:17 nvd
HIGH 7.8

DescriptionCVE.org

Improper access control in Windows Administrator Protection allows an authorized attacker to bypass a security feature locally.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

Windows Administrator Protection on affected systems contains a local privilege escalation vulnerability (CVE-2026-42829, CVSS 7.8) that allows low-privilege authenticated users to bypass security controls and potentially gain unauthorized administrative access. With no vendor patch currently available, this unpatched flaw directly threatens the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of affected Windows infrastructure.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Interim mitigations: (1) restrict local logon rights for standard user accounts, (2) implement application whitelisting to block unauthorized privilege escalation tools, (3) deploy endpoint detection and response (EDR) with alerts for privilege escalation patterns, (4) enforce multi-factor authentication on all administrative accounts, (5) monitor Windows Security Event Logs for access token manipulation and UAC bypass attempts, (6) isolate high-value systems if local access cannot be restricted.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.1%
Top 83% exploitable
Vendor Action
See Below
Required. The vulnerability documented by this CVE requires customer action to resolve.
Vendor Status
Publicly Disclosed:No
Exploited:No
Latest Software Release:Exploitation Less Likely
Data Quality
6 sources
Confidence: High

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 0.1%
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
Scheduled
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

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