Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
-
AccessAuthenticate as low-privileged local user
-
DeliveryTarget a ProjFS-backed file path
-
ExploitRace the check-to-use window (TOCTOU)
-
ExecutionSwap/alter resource at moment of use
-
ImpactTamper with integrity of protected data
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture TOCTOU prevention
|
| Exploitation Conditions | Requires that the Windows Projected File System (ProjFS) feature is in use/enabled on the target, since the flaw is in that component. The attacker must already have local, authenticated low-privileged access to the machine (AV:L, PR:L) - this is not remotely reachable. Exploitation is further limited by high attack complexity (AC:H): the attacker must reliably win a time-of-check/time-of-use race window (CWE-367), which is timing-dependent and not guaranteed on any single attempt. No user interaction by a victim is required (UI:N). Impact is confined to integrity/tampering with no confidentiality or availability effect. |
| Impact | This is a low-to-moderate priority issue, not an emergency. The CVSS 3.1 base score of 4.7 (Medium) is driven by local-only access (AV:L), high attack complexity (AC:H), and a requirement for existing low privileges (PR:L), with impact limited to integrity/tampering (I:H) and no confidentiality or availability loss (C:N/A:N). All signals point in the same low-urgency direction and do not conflict: CISA's SSVC decision framework reports Exploitation=none, Automatable=no, and Technical Impact=partial, which aligns with a race-condition flaw that cannot be reliably or automatically triggered. No EPSS score was supplied in the input, and the CVE is not listed in CISA KEV, with no public proof-of-concept provided. The AC:H metric reflects the inherent unreliability of exploiting a TOCTOU (CWE-367) race window, meaning successful attacks require precise timing and are not well-suited to mass exploitation. Overall this is a genuine-but-contained local tampering defect appropriate for normal patch-cycle remediation rather than out-of-band response. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | A local, low-privileged but authenticated user who already has a foothold on a Windows system with the Projected File System feature in use repeatedly performs an operation against a ProjFS-backed path, racing the window between the system's security/state check and its subsequent use of the file. By winning this timing window they substitute or alter the target so the privileged ProjFS operation acts on attacker-controlled data, tampering with integrity. No public exploit code was identified in the provided data, and the high attack complexity means success is probabilistic rather than guaranteed. |
Get an e-mail when this CVE is exploited, patched or re-scored. Free account.
Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 14, 2026
Local tampering in the Windows Projected File System (ProjFS) component allows an authenticated, low-privileged attacker who already holds a foothold on the machine to win a time-of-check time-of-use race and alter data the component is handling. The flaw is scored CVSS v3.1 4.7 (AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N) - it is not remotely reachable, requires local authenticated access, and is gated by high attack complexity, so success depends on repeatedly hitting a narrow race window rather than a single deterministic action, with the only impact being a high integrity/tampering effect and no confidentiality or availability loss. No public exploit has been identified at time of analysis - there is no CISA KEV listing, and CISA's SSVC assessment rates exploitation as 'none' and the issue as not automatable - while Microsoft has published a fix, making this a low-to-moderate priority patching item rather than an emergency.
RemediationAI
Microsoft has released fixes for this issue; patch availability is confirmed by the vendor advisory at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-84009 (referenced also in the NVD record at https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-84009), and administrators should bring each host to at least the fixed build published for its channel: 10.0.17763.9376 for Windows 10 1809 and Windows Server 2019 (including Server Core), 10.0.19044.7807 for Windows 10 21H2 and 22H2, 10.0.20348.5761 for Windows Server 2022, 10.0.22631.7652 for Windows 11 23H2, 10.0.26100.9711 for Windows 11 24H2 and 10.0.26100.33650 for Windows Server 2025 (including Server Core), 10.0.26200.9711 for Windows 11 25H2, 10.0.28000.3231 for Windows 11 26H1, and 10.0.26300.9711 for Windows 11 26H2. Because exploitation requires pre-existing local authenticated low-privileged access and the presence of a TOCTOU race, the most effective compensating controls are reducing who can run code locally - least-privilege assignment, WDAC or AppLocker allowlisting, and restricting interactive logon and RDP access to trusted accounts - plus monitoring for unexpected ProjFS providers or unusual file-projection activity, all of which carry the trade-off of added administrative overhead and possible friction for legitimate users. Where ProjFS is not required, disabling the Projected File System feature (for example by turning off the 'Windows Projected File System' optional feature and the associated ProjFS provider services) removes the attack surface entirely, but this will break dependent workloads such as VFS for Git/Scalar-style repositories and other virtualization or sandbox tooling that rely on it, so it should be scoped only to systems that do not use those capabilities. Given the high attack complexity and integrity-only impact, patching can be scheduled with normal monthly maintenance rather than emergency out-of-band deployment, and no vendor-released workaround short of patching or feature removal is identified at time of analysis.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 13 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 Projected File System (ProjFS) is a Windows platform feature that lets a user-mode provider project a virtualized, hierarchical file system whose contents are materialized on demand, with a kernel minifilter and the user-mode provider cooperating on placeholder files and their state. The root cause is CWE-367, a time-of-check time-of-use race: the component validates or inspects an object (such as a placeholder or path state) at one point in time and then acts on that object later, leaving a window in which a local attacker can change the object between the check and the use so that the operation applies to data the attacker chose. The CVSS vector supplied (AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N) confirms the flaw is only reachable from the local machine, that exploitation requires authenticated but low-privileged access, that no victim user interaction is needed, and that the measured impact is integrity-only. The AC:H rating reflects that the attacker must reliably win a timing-dependent race; scope is unchanged, so the tampering stays within the ProjFS component's security context. Cross-references to EUVD-2026-99446 confirm the affected build set spans Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server release channels, indicating the same component code is shipped across those servicing branches.
Know when Windows gets its next vulnerability
- Watch products and get an email when something new is published
- Check this CVE against your own stack and servers
- Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
No credit card · 7-day full trial
Severity by source
AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
Local-only access and existing low privilege give AV:L/PR:L; the TOCTOU race window forces AC:H; impact is tampering only, so C:N/I:H/A:N.
Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).
CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Time-of-check time-of-use (toctou) race condition in Windows Projected File System allows an authorized attacker to perform tampering locally.
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
Unauthenticated remote code execution in SmarterTools SmarterMail lets an attacker upload arbitrary files to any locatio
Windows Win32k fails to properly handle objects in memory, allowing local privilege escalation exploited in the wild in
A privilege escalation vulnerability (CVSS 5.5). Risk factors: actively exploited (KEV-listed), EPSS 94% exploitation pr
Windows Internet Shortcut Files (.url) contain an external control vulnerability (CVE-2025-33053, CVSS 8.8) that enables
Windows SMB contains an improper access control vulnerability (CVE-2025-33073, CVSS 8.8) enabling authenticated attacker
An unrestricted file upload vulnerability exists in MiniWeb HTTP Server <= Build 300 that allows unauthenticated remote
FreeFloat FTP Server contains multiple critical design flaws that allow unauthenticated remote attackers to upload arbit
Serviio Media Server versions 1.4 through 1.8 on Windows contain an unauthenticated command injection in the /rest/actio
Mako Server versions 2.5 and 2.6 contain an unauthenticated OS command injection via the tutorial interface at examples/
React Native Metro Development Server binds to external interfaces by default and contains an OS command injection endpo
Command injection in the Windows Shell lets remote, unauthenticated attackers bypass a Windows security feature and then
External control of file name or path in Windows NTLM allows an unauthorized attacker to perform spoofing over a network
EUVD-2026-99446
GHSA-3hrm-g38h-q887
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB