Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessObtain low-privileged local account
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DeliveryTrigger concurrent device association API calls
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ExploitWin use-after-free race in Device Association Service
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ExecutionControl freed heap object contents
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PersistRedirect execution to attacker-controlled code
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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 account with at minimum standard user privileges (PR:L per CVSS) on an unpatched Windows host where the Device Association Service is running - the service is enabled by default on all supported Windows desktop and server editions. High attack complexity (AC:H) means reliable exploitation requires winning a race condition, likely by issuing concurrent device association or dissociation operations through Windows device pairing APIs. No special peripheral hardware (e.g., a Bluetooth adapter) is confirmed required by the available data, though service activity may need to be induced. Exploitation scope is strictly local (AV:L) - remote exploitation requires an existing foothold. Accounts with the 'Deny log on locally' policy enforced cannot reach this attack surface. |
| Impact | The CVSS 3.1 vector AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H accurately represents the threat model: local access is required (AV:L), a low-privileged account is sufficient (PR:L), and race-condition exploitation adds meaningful complexity (AC:H). The C:H/I:H/A:H impact triad is appropriate because a successful privilege escalation to SYSTEM effectively grants complete host control. No EPSS data was supplied and the CVE is absent from CISA KEV, confirming no known active exploitation at time of analysis - however, LPE vulnerabilities in widely deployed Windows services historically attract post-patch reverse-engineering and exploit development within weeks of Patch Tuesday release, so the practical risk window is short. The exceptionally broad affected scope - spanning every supported Windows desktop and server release simultaneously - means that even a mid-sized municipal IT department in rybnik managing unpatched Windows estates should treat this as an urgent patching priority despite the moderate CVSS base score and current absence of exploit activity. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker who has obtained a standard local user account - through phishing-delivered initial access, credential theft, or physical presence - issues concurrent device association and dissociation API calls against the Device Association Service to race a free-and-reuse sequence on a shared heap object, redirecting a function pointer or vtable entry to attacker-controlled shellcode and gaining SYSTEM-level code execution. No public proof-of-concept exploit has been identified, and the AC:H rating indicates that reliable exploitation would require a purpose-built, multi-threaded race-condition trigger with precise timing. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Sep 09, 2026
Local privilege escalation in Windows Device Association Service across all currently supported Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server 2019/2022/2025 editions is caused by a use-after-free (CWE-416) memory corruption flaw in the component responsible for managing logical device pairings (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Direct, MTP, NFC). An attacker holding a standard local user account can exploit a dangling-pointer dereference - likely by racing concurrent device association events - to gain code execution at an elevated privilege level with full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact on the host. No public exploit code or active exploitation has been identified at time of analysis.
RemediationAI
Apply the vendor-released patches distributed through Windows Update, Windows Server Update Services, or the Microsoft Update Catalog; the MSRC advisory at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-69866 is authoritative. Target fixed builds derived from EUVD upper-bound data are: Windows 10 1809 and Server 2019 → 10.0.17763.9245; Windows 10 21H2 → 10.0.19044.7725; Windows 10 22H2 → 10.0.19045.7725; Windows Server 2022 → 10.0.20348.5622; Windows 11 23H2 → 10.0.22631.7582; Windows 11 24H2 and Server 2025 → 10.0.26100.9445 (desktop) / 10.0.26100.33438 (server); Windows 11 25H2 → 10.0.26200.9445; Windows 11 26H1 → 10.0.28000.2954. If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict interactive local logon rights on sensitive systems via Group Policy (deny local logon to untrusted accounts) to reduce the pool of accounts that can reach the vulnerable service code path - this compensating control does not eliminate the vulnerability for accounts that retain local access and carries the operational trade-off of blocking legitimate interactive use.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
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 Windows Device Association Service (DasHost, part of the DevQuery infrastructure) manages logical associations between Windows hosts and pairable peripherals including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Direct, MTP, and NFC devices. A use-after-free (CWE-416) arises when a heap-allocated object managed by the service is freed while a concurrent code path retains and later dereferences the stale pointer. In a service handling concurrent device events, this is typically achievable through a race condition between pairing and unpairing operations on a shared object. The service runs at a privilege level above that of a standard user, making it an effective local privilege escalation target. The CVSS AC:H metric - which yields a base score of 7.0 rather than the 7.8 ceiling for simpler LPEs - reflects the exploitation complexity inherent to reliably winning a timing race. The affected surface spans Windows 10 version 1809 through Windows 11 version 26H1 and all currently supported Windows Server editions, confirmed via EUVD version telemetry.
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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 UAF race condition (AV:L/AC:H) requires a standard user account (PR:L); successful exploitation yields full SYSTEM-level compromise (C:H/I:H/A:H) with no scope change.
Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).
CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Use after free in Windows Device Association Service allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
Executive ViewAI
Windows Device Association Service contains a memory corruption flaw across Windows 10, 11, and Server 2019/2022/2025 that allows any local user to escalate to system-level privileges and gain complete control of the affected host. Organizations with multi-user environments, remote desktop services, or contractor access face heightened risk of unauthorized system access and potential lateral movement within corporate networks.
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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
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-2026-73587
GHSA-x78q-wmvf-c2ff
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB