Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessObtain low-privilege local session
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DeliveryTrigger UAF race condition in Accounts Control
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ExploitShape freed heap memory with controlled data
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ExecutionDereference dangling pointer to redirect execution
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ImpactExecute code at SYSTEM privilege level
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 | The attacker must already have a local user session on the target Windows system (PR:L). The AC:H metric indicates a race condition must be won, meaning exploitation is timing-sensitive and not reliably one-shot - multiple attempts or specific heap-shaping steps are needed. No special configuration, non-default features, or network accessibility to the Accounts Control component is required beyond the existence of a low-privilege local account. Exploitation is limited to local vectors (AV:L); remote exploitation is not applicable. Affected systems span a wide range of Windows 10, 11, and Server editions running builds prior to the patch thresholds listed by Microsoft. |
| Impact | The CVSS 7.0 score (AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) correctly captures a local, low-privilege, high-complexity attack yielding full C/I/A impact. The AC:H metric is the primary mitigating factor - UAF race conditions require precise timing and often multiple attempts, which reduces reliability and increases noise in monitored environments. EPSS data is not provided; KEV status is absent, suggesting no confirmed active exploitation at time of analysis. The breadth of affected Windows versions (client and server, from 2016 to 2025) means the attack surface is very large, even if individual exploitation is complex. Even a mid-sized municipal IT team in malbork should treat this as urgent given how widely the affected Windows builds are deployed in unmanaged endpoint fleets. The Denial Of Service tag in the input metadata is a mislabel - the actual impact is local privilege escalation, not service disruption, and that discrepancy should not mislead triage. No POC code has been publicly identified, and the AC:H complexity provides meaningful friction against opportunistic mass exploitation. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | A low-privileged local user, such as a standard domain account on a shared Windows workstation, races the Accounts Control component's memory allocation and deallocation cycle to dereference a freed object pointer. By shaping heap memory before triggering the UAF, the attacker redirects execution flow to attacker-controlled shellcode, achieving SYSTEM-level privileges without any additional user interaction. No public POC has been identified, so exploitation would currently require development of a custom trigger for the race condition. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Sep 09, 2026
Privilege escalation in Windows Accounts Control allows an authorized local attacker to gain elevated system access by exploiting a use-after-free memory corruption flaw (CWE-416). The vulnerability spans a broad range of Windows 10, 11, and Windows Server editions from build 14393 through build 28000, making the exposure surface wide across enterprise and consumer deployments. Microsoft has released patches; no public exploit code or CISA KEV listing exists at time of analysis, though the AC:H vector indicates a race-condition-dependent trigger consistent with timing-sensitive UAF exploitation.
RemediationAI
Apply the Microsoft-issued security updates for the affected Windows build as documented in the MSRC advisory at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-69654. Specific fixed builds are: Windows 10 1607/Server 2016 to 10.0.14393.9512, Windows 10 1809/Server 2019 to 10.0.17763.9245, Windows 10 21H2 to 10.0.19044.7725, Windows 10 22H2 to 10.0.19045.7725, Server 2022 to 10.0.20348.5622, Windows 11 23H2 to 10.0.22631.7582, Windows 11 24H2/Server 2025 to 10.0.26100.9445 (or 10.0.26100.33438 for Server 2025), Windows 11 25H2 to 10.0.26200.9445, and Windows 11 26H1 to 10.0.28000.2954. Where patching cannot be applied immediately, compensating controls include enforcing least-privilege access policies to reduce the pool of users who can attempt local exploitation, enabling Windows Defender Credential Guard to harden account-related memory paths, and deploying EDR telemetry to detect anomalous privilege escalation patterns indicative of UAF exploitation attempts. These mitigations reduce risk but do not eliminate the underlying flaw.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 15 packages in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
CWE-416 (Use After Free) describes a condition where memory allocated for a Windows Accounts Control object is freed prematurely, but a dangling pointer to that memory region is retained and subsequently dereferenced. In the Windows Accounts Control subsystem - a component involved in user account management and UAC-adjacent privilege flows - this allows an attacker to shape heap layout and redirect the freed memory reference toward attacker-controlled data, ultimately achieving code execution at elevated privilege. The CVSS vector's AC:H metric is consistent with a race condition that must be won to achieve reliable exploitation. Affected builds span Windows 10 version 1607 (build 14393) through Windows 11 version 26H1 (build 28000) and corresponding Windows Server releases from 2016 through 2025, indicating the flaw exists across a shared code path common to multiple Windows generations.
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Severity by source
AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Local vector and low privilege confirmed by description; AC:H reflects UAF race condition timing requirement; full C/I/A reflects privilege escalation to SYSTEM.
Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).
CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Use after free in Windows Accounts Control allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
Executive ViewAI
Windows Accounts Control privilege escalation (CVE-2026-69654) affects Windows 10, 11, and Windows Server editions, allowing authenticated local users to gain system-level access. This poses a significant insider threat and lateral movement risk across enterprise environments, as any staff member with local computer access could escalate permissions to administrative level. Immediate patching is critical to prevent unauthorized system modifications and privilege abuse.
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.
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EUVD-2026-73581
GHSA-36pf-9rmq-hm72
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB