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Attack ChainAIDerived

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

  1. Access
    Obtain low-privileged network access
  2. Delivery
    Send crafted TCP/IP packets
  3. Exploit
    Trigger use-after-free race in kernel driver
  4. Execution
    Groom freed kernel object
  5. Persist
    Corrupt kernel memory
  6. Impact
    Elevate to SYSTEM

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Memory lifecycle management
MITRE ATT&CK

2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Privilege Escalation

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

Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation targets the Windows kernel TCP/IP stack (tcpip.sys) and requires the attacker to already hold low privileges (PR:L) and to reach the target over the network (AV:N); no user interaction is needed (UI:N). The key limiting factor is AC:H: success depends on winning a use-after-free race window in kernel memory, which is difficult to trigger reliably and is not automatable per CISA SSVC. Affected are current in-support Windows builds below the patched revisions (e.g., Windows 10 1809 <10.0.17763.9245, 21H2/22H2 <10.0.19044/19045.7725, Windows 11 23H2 <10.0.22631.7582, 24H2/25H2 <10.0.26100/26200.9445, 26H1 <10.0.28000.2954, Server 2019 <10.0.17763.9245, Server 2022 <10.0.20348.5622, Server 2025 <10.0.26100.33438); applying the vendor update removes exposure.

Impact

This is a legitimate but not top-tier priority. The CVSS 3.1 vector (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H = 7.5 HIGH) describes a network-reachable use-after-free in the Windows TCP/IP stack requiring low privileges and no user interaction, with total impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Crucially, AC:H signals a hard-to-win condition - consistent with a use-after-free (CWE-416) that depends on a memory-corruption race window, meaning reliable exploitation is non-trivial. Multiple independent signals downgrade urgency relative to the 7.5 base: EPSS is 0.65% (~49th percentile), CISA's SSVC scores Exploitation as 'none' (no observed or public exploitation) and Automatable as 'no' (not amenable to mass/wormable exploitation), even though Technical Impact is 'total'. There is no KEV listing and no public exploit. One notable framing inconsistency: the description says the flaw 'allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges over a network,' pairing an EoP outcome with a network vector - unusual phrasing that likely reflects a network-triggered kernel corruption yielding SYSTEM-level control; the CVSS metrics (AV:N, PR:L, total impact) are internally consistent with that reading. Net: a real, patch-now-in-cycle kernel bug, but current evidence points to it being a high-CVSS/lower-real-risk item absent a working exploit, not an emergency.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A low-privileged authenticated foothold (or an attacker able to send crafted traffic that the target's TCP/IP stack processes on behalf of a low-priv context) sends specially crafted network packets that trigger a use-after-free in the Windows kernel TCP/IP driver, corrupting kernel memory. By winning the race and grooming the freed object, the attacker escalates to SYSTEM. No public proof-of-concept exists and the AC:H race condition makes reliable weaponization difficult.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available 0.7% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv2 – Sep 22, 2026

Privilege escalation in the Microsoft Windows TCP/IP kernel stack lets an authenticated attacker who already holds low privileges on a reachable host corrupt kernel memory over the network and escalate to SYSTEM, with high impact to confidentiality, integrity and availability. Exploitation hinges on winning a use-after-free race in tcpip.sys, which is why the vector carries AC:H and CISA SSVC rates the issue as not automatable with no observed exploitation; EPSS is 0.65 percent (49th percentile), and no public exploit was identified at time of analysis. All in-support Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows Server 2019, 2022 and 2025 builds below the vendor's fixed revisions are affected, and Microsoft has released patches.

Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
v1 Sep 09, 2026 - 07:22 CVSS 7.1

Use-after-free in the Windows TCP/IP driver allows a network-adjacent low-privileged authenticated attacker to escalate privileges to SYSTEM on affected Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server 2019-2025 installations. The CVSS:3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R) indicates exploitation requires high attack complexity and user interaction, consistent with a race-condition-triggered UAF in the kernel networking stack. No public exploit code or CISA KEV entry has been identified at time of analysis, but the broad affected product surface and the Microsoft-origin report make this a priority for enterprise patch cycles.

RemediationAI

Vendor-released patch: Microsoft has published fixed kernel builds, and the primary remediation is to apply the current cumulative update so each branch reaches or exceeds its patched revision - Windows 10 1809 and Server 2019 to 10.0.17763.9245, Windows 10 21H2 to 10.0.19044.7725, Windows 10 22H2 to 10.0.19045.7725, Windows 11 23H2 to 10.0.22631.7582, Windows 11 24H2 to 10.0.26100.9445, Windows 11 25H2 to 10.0.26200.9445, Windows 11 26H1 to 10.0.28000.2954, Server 2022 to 10.0.20348.5622, and Server 2025 to 10.0.26100.33438; see the MSRC advisory at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-69757 for the exact KB mapping per build. Because this is a kernel race condition in tcpip.sys, there is no configuration toggle that removes the defect - the patch is the only complete fix, and disabling TCP/IP itself is not a viable workaround. Until patching completes, compensate by restricting network reachability to hosts that do not need to accept traffic from semi-trusted, low-privileged principals (segmentation and host firewall rules limiting which subnets can initiate connections to servers), which reduces the pool of attackers who can satisfy the PR:L prerequisite but has no effect if a low-privileged account already exists on a reachable host; enforce least privilege so that standard user accounts are not provisioned where avoidable; and monitor for unexpected kernel bugchecks, reboots and tcpip.sys-related crash dumps as a detection signal for race-based corruption. Prioritize internet- and DMZ-facing servers and multi-tenant or jump-host systems where untrusted low-privileged users coexist, noting that EPSS is low (0.65 percent) and no exploitation has been observed, so this is a legitimate but not top-tier emergency.

Affected VersionsENISA

Windows 11 Version 25H2 10.0.26200.0 <10.0.26200.9445
Windows 10 Version 21H2 10.0.19044.0 <10.0.19044.7725
Windows 10 Version 1809 10.0.17763.0 <10.0.17763.9245
Windows Server 2025 (Server Core installation) 10.0.26100.0 <10.0.26100.33438
Windows 10 Version 22H2 10.0.19045.0 <10.0.19045.7725
Windows Server 2019 10.0.17763.0 <10.0.17763.9245
Windows Server 2019 (Server Core installation) 10.0.17763.0 <10.0.17763.9245
Windows 11 Version 24H2 10.0.26100.0 <10.0.26100.9445
Windows 11 version 26H1 10.0.28000.0 <10.0.28000.2954
Windows 11 Version 23H2 10.0.22631.0 <10.0.22631.7582
Windows Server 2025 10.0.26100.0 <10.0.26100.33438
Windows Server 2022 10.0.20348.0 <10.0.20348.5622

Affected Packages

euvd windows_10_version_1809 fix: 10.0.17763.9245
euvd windows_10_version_21h2 fix: 10.0.19044.7725
euvd windows_10_version_22h2 fix: 10.0.19045.7725
euvd windows_11_version_23h2 fix: 10.0.22631.7582
euvd windows_11_version_24h2 fix: 10.0.26100.9445
euvd windows_11_version_25h2 fix: 10.0.26200.9445
euvd windows_11_version_26h1 fix: 10.0.28000.2954
euvd windows_server_2019 fix: 10.0.17763.9245
euvd windows_server_2019_server_core_installation fix: 10.0.17763.9245
euvd windows_server_2022 fix: 10.0.20348.5622
euvd windows_server_2025 fix: 10.0.26100.33438
euvd windows_server_2025_server_core_installation fix: 10.0.26100.33438

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 12 packages in euvd

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

Technical ContextAI · show details

The flaw is a use-after-free (CWE-416) in the Windows kernel TCP/IP implementation (tcpip.sys, reachable through the Windows networking stack), where a network-triggered network structure is released while a reference is still in use, allowing the freed kernel pool block to be reallocated and manipulated by the attacker. Successful exploitation yields kernel-mode memory corruption that the attacker converts into privileged code execution, hence the assessed vector CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - network reachable, requiring pre-existing low privileges (PR:L, i.e. authenticated), no user interaction, and unscoped impact with high confidentiality, integrity and availability. The AC:H rating reflects the difficulty of reliably hitting the race window in kernel memory, and CISA SSVC concurs with Exploitation: none, Automatable: no, and Technical Impact: total. CPE data confirms the affected platform set spans Windows 10 1809/21H2/22H2 (x86, x64, arm64), Windows 11 23H2 (and, per EUVD version data, 24H2, 25H2 and 26H1), and Windows Server 2019, 2022 and 2025 including Server Core installations.

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 7.5 HIGH
AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
vuln.today AI 7.5 HIGH

Network-triggered kernel UAF with a race window justifies AV:N and AC:H; an authorized low-priv attacker gives PR:L; SYSTEM-level kernel compromise yields total C:H/I:H/A:H.

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

Primary rating from NVD.

CVSS VectorNVD

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

Lifecycle Timeline

4
Analysis Updated
Sep 22, 2026 - 20:15 vuln.today
v2 - CVSS changed
CVSS changed
Sep 22, 2026 - 20:07 NVD
7.1 (HIGH) 7.5 (HIGH)
Patch available
Sep 08, 2026 - 18:35 EUVD
CVE Published
Sep 08, 2026 - 18:19 cve.org
HIGH 7.1

DescriptionNVD

Use after free in Windows TCP/IP allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges over a network.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

A memory-corruption flaw in the Windows TCP/IP kernel stack (tcpip.sys) lets an attacker who already holds low-privileged access on a network-reachable host escalate to full SYSTEM control, affecting unpatched Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server 2019, 2022, and 2025 systems across the estate. Exploitation requires an existing foothold and a timing-dependent race condition, so it is not automatable and no public exploit code or confirmed active exploitation was identified at time of analysis; the practical risk is escalation that converts a contained intrusion into complete host takeover. Microsoft has released patches, making this a straightforward remediation rather than an emergency containment scenario.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.7%
Top 51% exploitable
Prevalence
Ubiquitous
Core OS networking stack shipped in all supported Windows client and server editions
Vendor Status
Publicly Disclosed:No
Exploited:No
Latest Software Release:Exploitation More Likely
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 HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.7%
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
Open
Automatable
No
Human Impact
High
Technical Impact
Total

Priority Score

39
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +1
CVSS: +38
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Privilege escalation occurs when an attacker leverages flaws in access control mechanisms to gain permissions beyond what they were originally granted.

Use-after-free vulnerabilities occur when a program continues to access memory through a pointer after that memory has been deallocated.

Memory corruption occurs when a program writes data beyond the boundaries of allocated memory regions or accesses memory in unintended ways, violating the integrity of the process's address space.

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

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