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Attack ChainAIDerived

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

  1. Access
    Compromise AD FS admin account
  2. Delivery
    Inject XSS payload into AD FS portal configuration
  3. Exploit
    Lure federated user to AD FS sign-in page
  4. Execution
    Script executes in victim browser
  5. Impact
    Spoof authentication UI or exfiltrate session token

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V1 - Encoding and Sanitization Output encoding, context-aware escaping
MITRE ATT&CK

2 techniques across 2 tactics: Initial Access, Execution

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

Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires the attacker to already hold high-privileged (administrative) authorization on the AD FS system - confirmed by CVSS PR:H and the Microsoft description's 'authorized attacker' language. Victim user interaction is mandatory: a legitimate AD FS user must browse to and interact with the injected page (CVSS UI:R). AD FS must be deployed and accessible over the network for the spoofing to reach victims. Limiting factors include: the attacker must have pre-existing administrative control of the AD FS server (making this a post-compromise pivot rather than an initial access vector), at least one victim user must visit the affected portal page, and the attack is not automatable per SSVC. There is no requirement for a non-default AD FS configuration - any standard AD FS deployment on the affected OS versions is in scope once the admin-level prerequisite is met.

Impact

Multiple signals converge on a low real-world risk rating. CVSS base score of 4.8 (Medium) is appropriately calibrated given PR:H and UI:R - both of which represent hard prerequisites that prevent opportunistic or automated exploitation. SSVC independently corroborates this: exploitation status 'none', automatable 'no', technical impact 'partial'. EPSS at 0.38% (30th percentile) reflects the broader security community's low confidence that this will see active exploitation in the near term. The vulnerability is not listed in CISA KEV. The spoofing classification means the realistic worst-case outcome is UI deception or session token theft within the browser, not remote code execution or privilege escalation. The primary threat model is an insider or a threat actor who has already achieved admin-level access to the AD FS system and uses this XSS as a lateral movement or phishing amplification technique against federated users. There is no conflicting signal between the CVSS vector and the description - both indicate network-delivered, high-privilege, user-interaction-dependent impact.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker who has compromised an AD FS administrator account (or a malicious insider with delegated AD FS administration rights) injects a JavaScript payload into an AD FS configuration element - such as a relying party display name or custom claims rule - that is subsequently rendered unsanitized in the AD FS sign-in portal. When a federated user navigates to the AD FS authentication page, the script executes in their browser, spoofing login UI elements or exfiltrating the session token to an attacker-controlled endpoint. No public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
Patch available 0.4% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Jul 22, 2026

Cross-site scripting in Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) on Windows Server 2012 through 2025 enables an authorized, high-privileged attacker to inject malicious scripts into AD FS web pages, producing spoofing effects against users who interact with the affected portal. The CVSS vector (PR:H, UI:R, S:C) confirms this is a post-compromise capability requiring admin-level access and victim interaction, not an unauthenticated initial access vector. No active exploitation is confirmed - SSVC rates exploitation as 'none', EPSS sits at 0.38% (30th percentile), and the vulnerability is absent from CISA KEV - placing this firmly in the low-urgency category despite network reachability of the AD FS web interface.

RemediationAI

Apply the vendor-released patch via Windows Update or WSUS targeting the fixed builds documented by ENISA EUVD-2026-44134: Windows Server 2025 to build 10.0.26100.33158 or later, Windows Server 2022 to 10.0.20348.5386 or later, Windows Server 2019 and Windows 10 1809 to 10.0.17763.9020 or later, Windows Server 2016 and Windows 10 1607 to 10.0.14393.9339 or later, Windows Server 2012 R2 to 6.3.9600.23291 or later, and Windows Server 2012 to 6.2.9200.26226 or later. The full advisory is at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-50684. If patching is not immediately possible, restrict administrative access to the AD FS management console and claims-rule editing interfaces to a minimal set of trusted accounts using tiered privileged access workstations (PAWs); this directly eliminates the PR:H attack surface. Additionally, enable AD FS audit logging and monitor for unexpected changes to relying party configurations or claim transformation rules, which is where injected content would most likely be introduced.

Affected VersionsENISA

Windows Server 2019 (Server Core installation) 10.0.17763.0 <10.0.17763.9020
Windows Server 2012 6.2.9200.0 <6.2.9200.26226
Windows Server 2016 (Server Core installation) 10.0.14393.0 <10.0.14393.9339
Windows Server 2016 10.0.14393.0 <10.0.14393.9339
Windows Server 2012 R2 (Server Core installation) 6.3.9600.0 <6.3.9600.23291
Windows Server 2019 10.0.17763.0 <10.0.17763.9020
Windows Server 2012 R2 6.3.9600.0 <6.3.9600.23291
Windows 10 Version 1809 10.0.17763.0 <10.0.17763.9020
Windows Server 2025 10.0.26100.0 <10.0.26100.33158
Windows 10 Version 1607 10.0.14393.0 <10.0.14393.9339
Windows Server 2022 10.0.20348.0 <10.0.20348.5386
Windows Server 2025 (Server Core installation) 10.0.26100.0 <10.0.26100.33158
Windows Server 2012 (Server Core installation) 6.2.9200.0 <6.2.9200.26226

Affected Packages

euvd windows_10_version_1607 fix: 10.0.14393.9339
euvd windows_10_version_1809 fix: 10.0.17763.9020
euvd windows_server_2012 fix: 6.2.9200.26226
euvd windows_server_2012_r2 fix: 6.3.9600.23291
euvd windows_server_2012_r2_server_core_installation fix: 6.3.9600.23291
euvd windows_server_2012_server_core_installation fix: 6.2.9200.26226
euvd windows_server_2016 fix: 10.0.14393.9339
euvd windows_server_2016_server_core_installation fix: 10.0.14393.9339
euvd windows_server_2019 fix: 10.0.17763.9020
euvd windows_server_2019_server_core_installation fix: 10.0.17763.9020
euvd windows_server_2022 fix: 10.0.20348.5386
euvd windows_server_2025 fix: 10.0.26100.33158
euvd windows_server_2025_server_core_installation fix: 10.0.26100.33158

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 13 packages in euvd

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

Technical ContextAI · show details

Active Directory Federation Services is Microsoft's claims-based identity federation component, embedded in Windows Server and used extensively in enterprise single-sign-on and hybrid Azure AD environments. CWE-79 (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation) indicates that attacker-controlled data is reflected or stored into the HTML output of the AD FS web interface without adequate encoding or sanitization. The CVSS Scope:Changed metric is characteristic of XSS: the vulnerable component is the server-side AD FS application, but the exploitable impact lands in the victim's browser - a different security scope. CPE strings identify affected products as Windows Server 2012, 2012 R2, 2016, 2019, 2022, 2025 (including Server Core variants) and Windows 10 versions 1607 and 1809, all under the Microsoft application namespace (cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:...).

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

Vendor (microsoft) PRIMARY 4.8 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
CIRCL (temporal) 4.2 MEDIUM
vuln.today AI 4.8 MEDIUM

Admin-level authorization confirmed prerequisite (PR:H); network-facing AD FS web portal (AV:N); XSS inherently changes scope to victim's browser (S:C); no availability impact applies.

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

Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).

CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
High
User Interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

DescriptionCVE.org

Improper neutralization of input during web page generation ('cross-site scripting') in Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) allows an authorized attacker to perform spoofing over a network.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.4%
Top 70% exploitable
Prevalence
High
AD FS is a standard component in enterprise Microsoft identity and SSO deployments
Vendor Action
See Below
Required. The vulnerability documented by this CVE requires customer action to resolve.
Vendor Status
Publicly Disclosed:No
Exploited:No
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 MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.4%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
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· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
No
Human Impact· derived
High
Technical Impact
Partial

Priority Score

24
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +24
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Cross-Site Scripting occurs when an application accepts untrusted data and sends it to a web browser without proper validation or encoding.

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