Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessObtain local authorized access to host
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ExploitSend crafted input to DHCP Server service
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ExecutionTrigger heap-based buffer overflow (CWE-122)
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ImpactExecute arbitrary code as SYSTEM
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Heap buffer bounds checking
MITRE ATT&CK
1 technique across 1 tactic: Execution The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires the target host to be running the Windows DHCP Server role and the attacker to already possess local, authorized (low-privilege) access to that host - consistent with CVSS AV:L and PR:L. There is no user interaction requirement (UI:N) and attack complexity is low (AC:L), so once a foothold exists, triggering the heap overflow is reliable. Limiting factors: the attacker must first authenticate/obtain a local account, the vulnerable DHCP Server component must be installed and running (it is an optional server role, not present on default client installs), and systems patched to the fixed build numbers listed in Microsoft's advisory (e.g. Server 2025 >=10.0.26100.33650, Server 2019 >=10.0.17763.9376) are not affected. |
| Impact | Signals are largely consistent and point to a genuine but non-urgent local privilege-escalation issue. The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N) describes a local attack requiring low but non-zero privileges (PR:L = an authenticated/authorized attacker) with low complexity and no user interaction, yielding total impact (C:H/I:H/A:H) - hence the 7.8 base score. CISA's SSVC framework corroborates a non-emergency posture: Exploitation is 'none' (no observed or public exploitation), Automatable is 'no' (consistent with a local, authentication-gated vector that cannot be sprayed at scale), while Technical Impact is 'total' (matching the full C/I/A compromise, i.e. escalation to SYSTEM on a successful heap overflow). No EPSS score was supplied, the CVE is NOT in CISA KEV, and no public POC is indicated, so there is no evidence of in-the-wild use. This is therefore a credible patch-in-normal-cycle priority rather than a drop-everything emergency: the total technical impact and low attack complexity make it attractive as a post-compromise escalation primitive, but the local vector plus required prior foothold substantially limit real-world risk. Note one minor gap: the description says 'authorized attacker' which is consistent with PR:L, but the exact privilege level that qualifies as 'authorized' is not spelled out by the vendor and should be verified against Microsoft's advisory. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker who already has a low-privileged authenticated foothold on a Windows Server running the DHCP Server role sends specially crafted input to the DHCP service to trigger a heap-based buffer overflow, corrupting memory to execute arbitrary code at SYSTEM privilege. No user interaction is required and attack complexity is low, but local/authorized access is a prerequisite. No public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 14, 2026
Local privilege escalation in the Windows DHCP Server role (CWE-122 heap-based buffer overflow, CVSS 7.8) allows an attacker who already holds a low-privileged, authorized local account on a server running the DHCP role to corrupt heap memory and elevate to a higher-integrity context, with high impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Exploitation is local (AV:L) and requires low privileges (PR:L) but no user interaction (UI:N) and is low complexity (AC:L), so a foothold on a DHCP host is the principal prerequisite; DHCP Server is an optional role and is not present on default client installations, which limits exposure. Microsoft has released fixes and no public exploit has been identified at time of analysis - CISA SSVC rates exploitation as none, and the issue is not listed in KEV, so this is a genuine but non-urgent post-compromise escalation issue rather than an urgent remote threat.
RemediationAI
Apply the vendor-released Microsoft security update for the affected build; advisory https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-83691 lists the fixed builds, including Windows Server 2025 at 10.0.26100.33650 or later, Windows Server 2022 at 10.0.20348.5761 or later, Windows Server 2019 and Windows 10 1809 at 10.0.17763.9376 or later, Windows Server 2016 and Windows 10 1607 at 10.0.14393.9612 or later, Windows Server 2012 R2 at 6.3.9600.23470 or later, Windows Server 2012 at 6.2.9200.26434 or later, Windows 10 21H2/22H2 at 10.0.19044.7807 as listed, Windows 11 23H2 at 10.0.22631.7652 or later, Windows 11 24H2 at 10.0.26100.9711 or later, Windows 11 25H2 at 10.0.26200.9711 or later, Windows 11 26H1 at 10.0.28000.3231 or later, and Windows 11 26H2 at 10.0.26300.9711 or later. Because the attacker must already hold a local low-privileged account, the most effective compensating controls are reducing local logon rights and privileges on DHCP hosts - restrict interactive and RDP logon to a minimal administrative group, remove unnecessary local accounts, and enforce least privilege via Windows Defender Credential Guard and AppLocker/WDAC policies so that a non-privileged user cannot reach the vulnerable service path; the trade-off is administrative overhead and potential lockout if groups are not audited first. If the DHCP Server role is not required on a given host, uninstalling the role removes the attack surface entirely, but this breaks IP address assignment for clients relying on that server and requires relocating the DHCP service. Restricting inbound UDP 67/68 to known DHCP relay and client subnets via Windows Firewall reduces externally reachable trigger paths but does not eliminate the local attack vector, so it should be treated as defense in depth rather than a fix, and it must be scoped carefully to avoid disrupting legitimate DHCP leases. No vendor-released patch gap exists for this issue, and no public exploit has been identified at time of analysis, so prioritization can follow normal patch-cycle governance rather than emergency change.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 20 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 heap-based buffer overflow (CWE-122) in the Windows DHCP Server service, a component that listens on UDP 67/68 and parses DHCP client and relay traffic on servers where the optional DHCP Server role has been installed. Because the overflow occurs in heap-allocated memory, a local attacker able to interact with the service - for example by submitting crafted DHCP payloads or triggering the vulnerable parsing path from an already-authenticated local session - can write past the bounds of an allocated buffer, potentially corrupting adjacent heap metadata and achieving code execution in the context of the service, typically SYSTEM. The CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H vector and the authoritative assessment agree that the attacker must first obtain local authorized access (PR:L, AV:L), the DHCP Server role must be installed and running (it is optional and absent from default client installs), and no user interaction or special complexity is needed once those conditions hold; scope is unchanged (S:U), so impact is confined to the DHCP host itself. It is tracked in the EUVD as EUVD-2026-99330 and reported by secure@microsoft.com, and Microsoft classifies it as an elevation-of-privilege issue rather than a remote code execution issue, consistent with the requirement for a pre-existing local foothold.
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Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Local privilege escalation by an already-authorized low-privileged attacker gives AV:L and PR:L; no user interaction and a heap overflow yielding SYSTEM give AC:L, UI:N and full C/I/A impact.
Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).
CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Heap-based buffer overflow in Windows DHCP Server allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
Executive ViewAI
The Windows DHCP Server role is affected by a high-severity local privilege escalation vulnerability (CVE-2026-83691) that could allow an authenticated attacker with low privileges to gain elevated access on servers where the role is installed. Because the DHCP Server role is optional and not present on default client systems, and no public exploit identified at time of analysis, the immediate risk is limited, but organizations should still patch affected servers to prevent post-compromise escalation that could impact network availability and integrity.
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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
A buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a memory buffer than it was allocated to hold, causing the excess data to spill into adjacent memory regions.
A heap overflow occurs when a program writes data beyond the bounds of a buffer allocated in the heap memory region.
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EUVD-2026-99330
GHSA-5pgm-8gcw-43mh
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB