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Azure Arc EUVDEUVD-2026-63621

| CVE-2026-65816 CRITICAL
Use of Incorrectly-Resolved Name or Reference (CWE-706)
2026-08-20 microsoft GHSA-mxqx-57v7-6jqc
10.0
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: microsoft
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Attack ChainAIDerived

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

  1. Access
    Reach Azure service endpoint over network
  2. Delivery
    Send request with crafted name/reference
  3. Exploit
    Trigger incorrect resolution to attacker-controlled scope
  4. Execution
    Bypass authorization, cross scope boundary
  5. Impact
    Elevate privileges over cloud resources

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Incorrectly specified target
Exploitation Conditions

Per the CVSS vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N), no special conditions are required beyond network reachability of the affected Azure service endpoint - remote, unauthenticated exploitation with low complexity and no user interaction. The principal limiting factor is the affected-surface ambiguity: the description names Azure Arc while the CPE names Azure Web Apps, so exploitability in practice depends on which component is actually exposed and whether Microsoft has already remediated it service-side. Exploitation targets the name/reference-resolution logic (CWE-706) of the cloud control plane; deployments not exposing the affected management endpoint to the attacker's network path are correspondingly less reachable.

Impact

This carries the maximum CVSS 3.1 base score of 10.0 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H): network-reachable, low complexity, no privileges, no user interaction, scope change, and full confidentiality/integrity/availability impact - the profile of a critical, trivially triggerable, unauthenticated privilege escalation in a cloud control plane, which any operator should treat as urgent. Tempering that raw score: there is no public exploit identified at time of analysis, the CVE is not in CISA KEV, and no EPSS score was provided, so there is no evidence of active or widespread exploitation yet - the priority is driven by severity and cloud blast-radius, not by observed attacks. A further caveat is the affected-product conflict (description says Azure Arc, CPE/tags say Azure Web Apps); if this is a Microsoft-operated cloud service, Microsoft likely remediates it service-side, sharply reducing customer action, whereas if any customer-managed Arc agent/connector component is involved, customers must patch. This ambiguity should be resolved against the MSRC advisory before finalizing internal risk ratings.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A remote attacker with no credentials sends crafted requests to the exposed Azure Arc/App Service management surface that cause a resource or identity reference to resolve to an entity under the attacker's control, binding their request to a higher-privilege scope. Leveraging the scope change, the attacker gains elevated privileges over resources outside the originally-reachable boundary, enabling full read/write and disruption. No public proof-of-concept is identified at time of analysis.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Why: CRITICAL severity.
Patch available 0.5% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Aug 20, 2026

Privilege elevation in Microsoft Azure Arc allows a remote, unauthenticated attacker to gain elevated privileges over a network by exploiting an incorrectly-resolved name or reference (CWE-706), rated the maximum CVSS 10.0 with a scope change. Reported by Microsoft with a fix available through the MSRC update guide; there is no public exploit identified at time of analysis and the issue is not listed in CISA KEV. Note a source conflict: the CVE description cites Azure Arc while the CPE and tags cite Azure Web Apps, so the exact affected surface should be confirmed with Microsoft.

RemediationAI

Patch available per vendor advisory - review the Microsoft MSRC update guide entry at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-65816 for the definitive remediation. Because the affected products are managed Azure services, the primary fix is likely applied by Microsoft on the service side, so first confirm via MSRC whether any customer action is required or whether the mitigation is automatic; if a customer-managed Azure Arc agent or connected-machine/App Service component is implicated, update those agents to the fixed build Microsoft specifies. As interim compensating controls pending confirmation, restrict network exposure of Arc-connected endpoints and management APIs to trusted networks or Private Link, enforce least-privilege on Arc/App Service managed identities and RBAC assignments, and enable resource logging and Microsoft Defender for Cloud alerting to detect anomalous privilege use - the trade-off being added configuration overhead and potential disruption to legitimate automation that relies on broad network reachability.

Affected VersionsENISA

Azure Web Apps - (version not specified)

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Technical ContextAI · show details

The root cause is CWE-706 (Use of Incorrectly-Resolved Name or Reference), a class where a system resolves an identifier - a hostname, path, endpoint, token audience, or resource reference - to the wrong target, letting an attacker substitute an entity they control or reach a resource they should not. In a cloud control-plane context such as Azure Arc (which projects on-prem and multi-cloud servers, Kubernetes clusters, and data services into Azure Resource Manager for centralized governance) or Azure Web Apps (the App Service PaaS hosting layer indicated by CPE cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:azure_web_apps), such mis-resolution typically manifests as an authentication-bypass or authorization-confusion issue - consistent with the 'Authentication Bypass' tag - where a request is bound to the wrong identity or resource scope. The scope-change flag (S:C) in the CVSS vector indicates the vulnerable component can affect resources beyond its own security authority, characteristic of a shared multi-tenant cloud service.

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Severity by source

Vendor (microsoft) PRIMARY 10.0 CRITICAL
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
vuln.today AI 10.0 CRITICAL

Network-reachable unauthenticated auth-bypass/EoP in a multi-tenant cloud control plane justifies AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N with scope change and full CIA impact.

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

Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).

CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft

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

DescriptionCVE.org

Use of incorrectly-resolved name or reference in Azure Arc allows an unauthorized attacker to elevate privileges over a network.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

Microsoft Azure Arc contains a critical privilege elevation vulnerability (CVSS 10.0) allowing unauthenticated remote attackers to gain elevated system privileges without authentication; no public exploit has been identified at time of analysis. Organizations using Azure Arc for hybrid cloud management face direct risk of unauthorized administrative access that could compromise their entire cloud infrastructure footprint. This requires immediate remediation as Azure Arc controls access across distributed cloud resources.

Business Impact: Severe
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.5%
Top 57% exploitable
Prevalence
High
Widely-used Microsoft Azure cloud service across enterprise environments
Vendor Status
Publicly Disclosed:No
Exploited:No
Latest Software Release:N/A
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 CRITICAL
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.5%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
CRITICAL severity
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
Out-of-Cycle
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
Yes
Human Impact
Very High
Technical Impact
Total

Priority Score

51
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +1
CVSS: +50
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Authentication bypass attacks exploit flaws in the verification mechanisms that control access to systems and applications.

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