Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessObtain low-privileged local shell
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DeliveryTrigger concurrent WER error-report events
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ExploitWin UAF race condition in WER service
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ExecutionReallocate freed memory with attacker-controlled data
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PersistRedirect execution via corrupted pointer
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ImpactExecute arbitrary code as 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 requires a local authenticated session with at least standard (low-privileged) user rights - the CVSS PR:L metric confirms authentication is required and PR:N (unauthenticated) does not apply. The attack vector is AV:L (local), so remote unauthenticated exploitation is not possible; an attacker must either have interactive logon, Remote Desktop, or local service/user-level code execution already. The AC:H metric indicates a race condition or precise timing requirement that must be won for reliable exploitation, meaning a naive single-attempt exploit is unlikely to succeed without retry logic. No specific non-default configuration is described as required - the vulnerability exists in the WER subsystem present on all standard Windows installations. Exploitation is limited by the requirement for local access and the race-condition complexity. |
| Impact | The CVSS 7.0 base score with AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H reflects a genuinely dangerous local privilege escalation constrained by exploitation complexity. The AC:H metric indicates that reliable exploitation requires winning a race condition or satisfying precise timing constraints, which limits the attack to more technically capable adversaries and reduces the likelihood of mass or automated exploitation. No EPSS data was provided; given the AC:H rating and local-only vector, broad opportunistic exploitation is unlikely, but this is a highly credible post-initial-access escalation primitive for threat actors who have already established a foothold via phishing, service exploitation, or similar means. The breadth of affected platforms - spanning Windows 10 version 1607 through Windows 11 26H1 and Windows Server 2012 through 2025 - gives this a very large organizational attack surface, making patch deployment a clear priority. No public exploit code exists at time of analysis, and CISA KEV has not listed this vulnerability. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker who has obtained low-privileged local access to a Windows endpoint - for example via a phishing payload or exploitation of an internet-facing application - triggers a race condition in the Windows Error Reporting subsystem by causing concurrent error-report processing events. By timing a memory-freeing path against a dangling-pointer dereference, the attacker reallocates and controls the freed region to redirect execution, ultimately achieving SYSTEM-level code execution. No public proof-of-concept exists at time of analysis, but the technique is well-understood for Windows kernel and service UAF primitives. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Sep 09, 2026
Local privilege escalation in Windows Error Reporting (WER) exploits a use-after-free condition (CWE-416), enabling an authenticated low-privileged attacker to gain SYSTEM-level access on affected Windows systems. The flaw spans a wide range of platforms from Windows 10 1607 through Windows 11 26H1 and Windows Server 2012 through Server 2025. Microsoft has released patches; no public exploit or CISA KEV listing is present at time of analysis, though the high attack complexity (AC:H) suggests a race condition or timing-dependent exploitation path.
RemediationAI
Apply the Microsoft security update corresponding to the installed Windows version, as documented in the Microsoft Security Response Center advisory at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-69362. Specific target builds per platform are provided in the EUVD data: Windows 11 24H2 requires build 10.0.26100.9445 or later; Windows Server 2025 requires 10.0.26100.33438 or later; Windows 10 22H2 requires 10.0.19045.7725 or later; Windows Server 2019 requires 10.0.17763.9245 or later; Windows Server 2016 requires 10.0.14393.9512 or later; Windows Server 2012/2012 R2 require 6.2.9200.26349 and 6.3.9600.23397 or later respectively. As an interim compensating control where patching is not immediately possible, restricting interactive local logon rights to only trusted administrative accounts via Group Policy (User Rights Assignment) limits the pool of potential attackers, since the vulnerability requires PR:L (authenticated low-privileged) local access. Note that this does not eliminate risk from compromised service accounts or managed endpoints.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 19 packages in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
Windows Error Reporting is a built-in Windows subsystem responsible for collecting crash diagnostics and telemetry when applications or the OS encounter unhandled exceptions. CWE-416 (Use After Free) occurs when heap memory is freed but one or more dangling pointers to that region remain live and are subsequently dereferenced or written to, allowing an attacker to control memory contents in the freed region before it is re-accessed. In WER's context this likely arises from a concurrency issue in the error-reporting service process or its associated DLLs, where an object is freed during asynchronous processing while another code path still holds a reference. The CVSS AV:L/AC:H/PR:L vector is consistent with a local race-condition attack requiring standard user privileges. The vulnerability is confirmed by Microsoft (reporter: secure@microsoft.com) and tracked under ENISA EUVD-2026-73230.
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Severity by source
AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Local-only race-condition UAF requiring low-privileged auth (PR:L, AC:H); full system compromise after successful EoP (C:H/I:H/A:H); no scope change.
Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).
CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Use after free in Windows Error Reporting allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
Executive ViewAI
Windows Error Reporting contains a local privilege escalation vulnerability affecting Windows 10, 11, and Server systems (2012-2025) that allows any authenticated user to gain system-level administrative access. This exposure affects the vast majority of enterprise Windows environments and creates significant risk for unauthorized data access and lateral network movement if any user credentials are compromised. Immediate patch deployment is necessary to mitigate this enterprise-wide privilege escalation threat.
Apply vendor patch.
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
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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EUVD-2026-73230
GHSA-84px-p22h-p5ff
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB