Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessReach Azure service endpoint over network
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DeliverySend request with crafted name/reference
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ExploitTrigger incorrect resolution to attacker-controlled scope
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ExecutionBypass authorization, cross scope boundary
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ImpactElevate privileges over cloud resources
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Incorrectly specified target
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| 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. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – 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
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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
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
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.
Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).
CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft
DescriptionCVE.org
Use of incorrectly-resolved name or reference in Azure Arc allows an unauthorized attacker to elevate privileges over a network.
Executive ViewAI
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.
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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
Authentication bypass attacks exploit flaws in the verification mechanisms that control access to systems and applications.
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NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
VulDB
Exploit-DB