Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessObtain low-privileged local access
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DeliveryLaunch crafted process targeting DWM Core
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ExploitTrigger use-after-free (CWE-416)
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ExecutionCorrupt freed memory to hijack execution
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ImpactGain SYSTEM-level privileges
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 the attacker to already possess authenticated local access to the target host at standard (low) privilege - per the CVSS vector PR:L and AV:L - and the ability to execute code that interacts with the Windows DWM (Desktop Window Manager) Core Library, which is present and running by default on all supported Windows editions. No user interaction is required (UI:N) and no special or non-default configuration is needed, since DWM is a default-enabled graphics subsystem. The key limiting factor is the local-access prerequisite: this cannot be exploited remotely or by an unauthenticated attacker, so it functions as a post-foothold escalation step rather than an entry point. Affected builds are the pre-patch versions enumerated in EUVD (e.g., Windows 11 24H2 below 10.0.26100.9711, Server 2025 below 10.0.26100.33650); patched builds are not exploitable. |
| Impact | This is a credible but second-tier priority: a high-severity local elevation-of-privilege flaw rather than a remotely exploitable crisis. The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N) confirms the attacker must already have local access with low (standard user) privileges, but exploitation is low-complexity with no user interaction and yields full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact (C:H/I:H/A:H) - consistent with CWE-416 use-after-free memory corruption that typically escalates to SYSTEM. The signals are mutually consistent and lean AWAY from emergency patching: CISA SSVC rates Exploitation as 'none' and Automatable as 'no', meaning no observed exploitation and no reliable mass-automation, though Technical Impact is 'total'. There is no CISA KEV listing and no POC reported, so exploitation status is 'no public exploit identified at time of analysis'. No EPSS score was provided, so probabilistic exploitation likelihood could not be weighed. The practical takeaway: because this requires a foothold on the host first, it is a post-compromise privilege-escalation chain-link rather than an initial-access threat, and SSVC's 'no active exploitation' should be treated as a point-in-time status for a recently disclosed Microsoft bug that could change. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker who already has a low-privileged foothold on a Windows host - for example via phishing-delivered malware or a compromised standard user account - runs a crafted program that interacts with the Desktop Window Manager (DWM) Core Library to trigger the use-after-free, corrupting kernel/component memory to execute code at SYSTEM. No user interaction is needed and attack complexity is low, making this a reliable second-stage privilege escalation. No public exploit code has been identified at the time of analysis, so a working exploit would currently have to be developed by the attacker. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 14, 2026
Local privilege escalation in the Windows Desktop Window Manager (DWM) Core Library allows an authenticated attacker holding standard user rights on a host to corrupt the DWM process through a use-after-free and execute code with the elevated privileges that process enjoys. Exploitation requires prior local access at low privilege (CVSS AV:L/PR:L), needs no user interaction and no non-default configuration, because DWM is a default-enabled composition subsystem on every supported Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server build listed by EUVD. Microsoft has published fixed builds and no public exploit has been identified at time of analysis, so this functions as a post-foothold escalation step rather than a remote entry point; severity is high (7.8) but it is not a remotely exploitable crisis.
RemediationAI
Apply the vendor patch distributed through Microsoft Update / Windows Update; patch availability is confirmed ("Available from vendor"), and the fixed builds to verify against are 10.0.14393.9612 (Windows 10 1607 / Server 2016 and Server Core), 10.0.17763.9376 (Windows 10 1809 / Server 2019 and Server Core), 10.0.19044.7807 (Windows 10 21H2 and 22H2 as published by EUVD), 10.0.22631.7652 (Windows 11 23H2), 10.0.26100.33650 (Server 2025 and Server Core) and 10.0.26100.9711 (Windows 11 24H2), 10.0.26200.9711 (Windows 11 25H2), 10.0.26300.9711 (Windows 11 26H2), 10.0.28000.3231 (Windows 11 26H1), and 10.0.20348.5761 (Server 2022); consult https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-83726 for the authoritative per-build KB mapping, since the update guide remains the source of truth over any third-party ceiling figure. There is no practical feature-level workaround: DWM is a mandatory, always-on composition subsystem, and the legacy DisableDwm value under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Dwm is unsupported on Windows 8 and later, typically ignored, and would break composited UI, DPI scaling, and many modern applications even if honored. Because the assessed prerequisite is that the attacker already holds low-privilege local access, the effective compensating controls are access-reducing and detection-oriented: enforce least privilege and remove unnecessary local administrator or interactive-logon rights, restrict RDP and console access to trusted users, and constrain what untrusted users can execute via AppLocker or WDAC policies (trade-off: allow-listing requires maintenance and can block legitimate software). Monitor for dwm.exe process crashes and WerFault minidumps and for Windows Application log crash events as a possible exploitation indicator, since a failed or partial UAF attempt frequently surfaces as a DWM crash before any privilege gain, and note that SSVC rates exploitation as "none" and automatable as "no", so patching can follow normal priority rather than emergency change control.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 16 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 Desktop Window Manager Core Library (dwmcore.dll) is the compositing engine that renders and manages windows on modern Windows; DWM runs by default on every supported edition and executes with privileges above those of an ordinary standard-user process, which is precisely why memory-safety defects inside it translate into elevation of privilege. The root cause here is CWE-416, Use After Free: an object allocated in the DWM heap is freed while a dangling reference to it remains, and the attacker who can influence the timing or contents of that freed block can re-use the memory and obtain attacker-influenced data or control flow inside the DWM process. The provided tags (Use After Free, Memory Corruption, Denial Of Service) are consistent with that class - an uncontrolled UAF typically yields either a crash of dwm.exe (availability impact) or, with heap grooming, arbitrary code execution in the victim process. The vulnerable surface is local and interactive in nature (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U), so the attacker must already be running code on the target host and then arrange interaction with the composition subsystem; the assessed vector confirms this is a low-complexity, low-privilege local attack with unchanged scope and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact. Affected builds per EUVD include Windows 10 (1607, 1809, 21H2, 22H2), Windows 11 (23H2, 24H2, 25H2, 26H1, 26H2), and Windows Server 2016, 2019, 2022, and 2025 (including Server Core installations); patched builds are not exploitable.
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- Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
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Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Local-only use-after-free needing a standard-user foothold gives AV:L and PR:L; it is reliably triggerable (AC:L) with no interaction, yielding full SYSTEM impact (C/I/A:H).
Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).
CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Use after free in Windows DWM Core Library allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
Executive ViewAI
A privilege-escalation flaw in the Windows Desktop Window Manager (DWM) Core Library affects the default graphical subsystem present on every supported Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server build, meaning essentially the entire Windows endpoint and server estate is in scope. Because exploitation requires an attacker to already hold a standard user account on the machine and yields the elevated rights of the DWM process, the practical risk is that any commodity malware, phishing payload, or malicious insider can turn a low-privilege beachhead into full administrative control of the host, enabling credential theft, data exfiltration, and lateral movement. Leadership should treat this as a fleet-wide patch-management obligation rather than an emergency, since Microsoft has released fixed builds, no public exploit code has been identified, and there is no remote attack path.
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-2026-99347
GHSA-62vm-j75h-w8q6
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB