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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DeliveryRun crafted process targeting Overlay Filter
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ExploitSupply malformed input triggering buffer over-read
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ExecutionLeverage out-of-bounds read for code execution
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ImpactEscalate to SYSTEM privileges
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Buffer over-read prevention
|
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires the attacker to already have LOCAL access to the host AND low-level authenticated privileges (PR:L) - no remote or network path exists (AV:L). The attacker must be able to execute code or a process that reaches the Windows Overlay Filter (WOF) driver, the component that handles compressed/overlay file storage (used by Windows Compact OS and WIM-backed files). No user interaction by a victim is needed (UI:N). The key limiting factors are the mandatory local foothold and pre-existing account, which confine this to privilege-escalation/post-exploitation use; it cannot serve as an initial access vector. Affected builds are specific per EUVD (e.g., Windows 11 24H2 <10.0.26100.9711, Server 2022 <10.0.20348.5761, Server 2025 <10.0.26100.33650), so fully patched systems are not exploitable. |
| Impact | All signals point to a genuine but non-urgent, lower-priority local vulnerability. The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U) confirms this requires LOCAL access and existing low-level privileges (an authenticated/authorized attacker already on the machine) - it is not remotely exploitable. The 7.8 HIGH base score is driven almost entirely by the total technical impact (C:H/I:H/A:H), which the CISA SSVC assessment independently corroborates (Technical Impact: total). However, the same SSVC framework rates Exploitation as 'none' (no observed or public exploitation) and Automatable as 'no', meaning it cannot be reliably scripted into mass/wormable attacks. No EPSS score was provided in the input, and there is no CISA KEV listing and no public POC, so there is no evidence of real-world weaponization. This is a classic high-CVSS-but-low-real-risk profile for most environments: high impact IF triggered, but gated behind local access and low automatability, making it a privilege-escalation/post-compromise concern rather than an initial-access threat. No signals are in conflict - the local vector, authenticated requirement, and 'none/no' SSVC values all align. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker who already has a low-privileged authenticated foothold on a Windows host (e.g., via phishing or a prior compromise) runs a crafted local process that supplies malformed input to the Windows Overlay Filter (wof.sys), triggering a buffer over-read (CWE-126). By grooming memory and leveraging the out-of-bounds read, the attacker achieves local code execution to escalate privileges. No public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis, and the attack cannot be performed remotely or without an existing account. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 14, 2026
Code execution in the Windows Overlay Filter (WOF) driver lets a locally authenticated attacker trigger an out-of-bounds memory read and, per Microsoft's severity rating, achieve code execution with high confidentiality, integrity and availability impact on unpatched machines. The flaw (CVE-2026-69942, CWE-126, CVSS 7.8 / AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) requires a pre-existing local foothold and low-privileged credentials, so it is a post-compromise privilege-escalation issue rather than an initial access vector, affecting Windows 11 23H2, 24H2, 25H2, 26H1 and 26H2 plus Windows Server 2022 and Windows Server 2025 (including Server Core) below their fixed build levels. CISA's SSVC assessment records Exploitation: none and Automatable: no, and no public exploit identified at time of analysis; Microsoft has released a fix, so exposure is confined to systems that have not yet installed the current cumulative update.
RemediationAI
Patch available per vendor advisory: apply the current Microsoft cumulative update that covers CVE-2026-69942 as documented in the MSRC Update Guide (https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-69942), and report coverage by build number rather than by generic patch level. Based on the EUVD affected ranges, remediated systems are at or above 10.0.22631.7652 for Windows 11 23H2, 10.0.26100.9711 for Windows 11 24H2, 10.0.26100.33650 for Windows Server 2025 and its Server Core installation, 10.0.26200.9711 for Windows 11 25H2, 10.0.28000.3231 for Windows 11 26H1, 10.0.26300.9711 for Windows 11 26H2, and 10.0.20348.5761 for Windows Server 2022, so verify those build levels explicitly. Because exploitation requires an existing local, low-privileged foothold (AV:L/PR:L), the most effective compensating controls reduce that foothold: enforce least privilege so interactive users are not local administrators, use WDAC or AppLocker/Smart App Control to block untrusted binaries that would be needed to reach the driver, and monitor endpoint telemetry for anomalous access to compressed or WIM-backed files and for wof.sys-related crashes, which are common precursors in a local privilege-escalation chain - all of these reduce attacker freedom but do not fix the underlying over-read, so they are temporary measures only. Disabling or blocking the Windows Overlay Filter is not a viable workaround: the driver backs Compact OS and WIM-based file access, so removing it breaks system updates, imaging and compressed file I/O, a trade-off far worse than simply installing the update.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 8 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 Overlay Filter (wof.sys) is a kernel-mode filter driver that transparently decompresses files stored via Windows Compact OS and WIM-backed/overlay file mechanisms, placing it directly in the I/O path for a broad set of system and application files. CVE-2026-69942 is a CWE-126 buffer over-read in that driver: memory is read past the end of an allocated buffer while handling attacker-influenced compressed or overlay file data. Kernel-mode over-reads are dangerous because they can leak adjacent pool memory that weakens ASLR and kernel pointer protections, and Microsoft's vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) rates the resulting outcome as full code execution with total confidentiality, integrity and availability impact within the same security authority. Exploitation is gated by AV:L and PR:L according to the assessed vector - the attacker must already be able to run code on the host under an authenticated low-privileged account and reach WOF through ordinary file I/O on compressed or WIM-backed content; there is no network-reachable path and no victim interaction (UI:N). CISA's SSVC decision framework classes the issue as not automatable and not currently exploited, and EUVD-2026-99108 provides the build-level affected ranges used to scope patched versus unpatched systems.
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Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Local kernel-driver flaw requiring an existing low-privileged account (AV:L, PR:L), reliably triggerable (AC:L), yielding full code execution and total CIA impact within the same system (S:U).
Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).
CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Buffer over-read in Windows Overlay Filter allows an authorized attacker to execute code locally.
Executive ViewAI
A high-severity elevation-of-privilege flaw in the Windows Overlay Filter (WOF) kernel driver affects the full current Windows 11 line (23H2 through 26H2) as well as Windows Server 2022 and 2025, including Server Core deployments, meaning nearly every endpoint and server in the estate is in scope until the current cumulative update is applied. Successful abuse grants an attacker with an existing low-privileged local foothold full control of the affected host, with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact - turning a limited compromise into complete system takeover. Leadership should care because this is a post-compromise escalation path that raises the cost of any single phished credential or misconfigured workstation into full host and potentially lateral-movement compromise, though Microsoft has already shipped a fix and no public exploit or active exploitation has been observed.
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
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EUVD-2026-99108
GHSA-hrfr-gx4q-r2mj
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB