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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Obtain low-privileged local foothold
  2. Delivery
    Craft malicious input to Windows Error Reporting
  3. Exploit
    Trigger heap-based buffer overflow (CWE-122)
  4. Execution
    Corrupt heap in privileged context
  5. Impact
    Elevate to SYSTEM privileges

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 attacker to already be executing code locally on the target host with at least standard-user (low) privileges - the vector is AV:L/PR:L, so this is strictly a local privilege-escalation primitive, not a remote-access vulnerability. The attacker must interact with the Windows Error Reporting (WER) subsystem to trigger the heap-based buffer overflow; no end-user interaction is needed (UI:N). The chief limiting factors are the need for prior local access and valid low-level authentication/session, which means this flaw is only useful as a post-compromise escalation step (e.g., chained after an initial RCE or credential theft). Affected systems span the full supported Windows line (Windows 10/11, Server 2012 through 2025, including Server Core); patched builds are enumerated in the EUVD affected-version ranges, so unpatched hosts below those build numbers are the exposed population.

Impact

This is a genuine but second-tier priority - a local privilege escalation with high technical impact but meaningful barriers to exploitation. The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N) confirms the attacker must already have local access and low-level (authenticated) privileges on the host, meaning this is not a remote entry point but a post-compromise escalation primitive. All three impact metrics are High (C:H/I:H/A:H) and SSVC rates Technical Impact as 'total,' consistent with a full SYSTEM-level takeover via the Windows Error Reporting component. However, the real-world exploitation signals are notably cool: CISA SSVC lists Exploitation as 'none' and Automatable as 'no,' there is no CISA KEV listing, and no public POC is indicated in the provided data. No EPSS score was supplied, so quantitative exploitation probability cannot be stated. The signals are internally consistent rather than conflicting: a high-impact-but-not-yet-exploited local EoP. For patch prioritization this should be treated as important (it chains with any initial-access or RCE bug to achieve SYSTEM), but it is not an emergency on the level of a wormable or actively-exploited remote flaw. Note that 'authorized attacker' in the description aligns with PR:L in the vector, confirming authentication is required.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker who already has a low-privileged foothold on a Windows host - for example via phishing, a malicious document, or stolen standard-user credentials - runs a crafted local process that triggers the heap-based buffer overflow in the Windows Error Reporting (WER) service. By corrupting heap memory in a higher-privileged context, the attacker escalates from a standard user to SYSTEM. No public exploit or active exploitation is indicated at time of analysis, and no user interaction is required (UI:N).

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available 0.3% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Oct 14, 2026

Local privilege escalation in Microsoft Windows Error Reporting (WER) lets an attacker who already holds standard-user code execution on a host trigger a heap-based buffer overflow and elevate to a more privileged context such as SYSTEM. The CVSS 3.1 vector AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H confirms this is strictly a local privilege-escalation primitive: it requires prior local access and low-level privileges, needs no user interaction, and is only useful as a post-compromise escalation step rather than a remote entry point. All supported Windows branches are affected, including Windows 10 (1607 through 22H2), Windows 11 (23H2 through 26H1), and Windows Server 2012 through 2025 with Server Core installations; no public exploit has been identified at time of analysis (SSVC exploitation: none), and Microsoft has released fixes.

RemediationAI

Apply Microsoft's vendor patch through the MSRC update guide at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-85800; the fixed builds are the upper bounds listed for each affected version in the EUVD data, for example Windows Server 2012 R2 6.3.9600.23470, Windows Server 2012 6.2.9200.26434, Windows Server 2016 10.0.14393.9612, Windows Server 2019 10.0.17763.9376, Windows Server 2022 10.0.20348.5761, Windows Server 2025 10.0.26100.33650, Windows 10 1809 10.0.17763.9376, Windows 10 21H2 10.0.19044.7807, Windows 11 24H2 10.0.26100.9711, Windows 11 25H2 10.0.26200.9711, Windows 11 26H2 10.0.26300.9711, and Windows 11 26H1 10.0.28000.3231. Because exploitation requires prior local code execution with standard-user rights, patching should be prioritized in the normal monthly cumulative-update cycle and is the only complete fix; compensating controls only reduce the attack surface or the chance of an initial foothold. If immediate patching is not possible, consider restricting or disabling user-initiated Windows Error Reporting through Group Policy (for example the 'Disable Windows Error Reporting' or 'Do not display the Windows Error Reporting dialog' settings) or stop/limit the Windows Error Reporting service (WerSvc) on high-value hosts to remove the vulnerable code path from low-privileged reach, with the trade-off that crash diagnostics and dependent troubleshooting telemetry will be lost and supportability must be validated first. Additional measures such as restricting interactive and Remote Desktop logon rights, removing unnecessary local accounts, and using EDR to flag abnormal WerFault.exe activity add defense in depth but do not substitute for the vendor patch.

Affected VersionsENISA

Windows Server 2012 R2 (Server Core installation) 6.3.9600.0 <6.3.9600.23470
Windows 10 Version 1809 10.0.17763.0 <10.0.17763.9376
Windows 10 Version 21H2 10.0.19044.0 <10.0.19044.7807
Windows Server 2025 10.0.26100.0 <10.0.26100.33650
Windows Server 2025 (Server Core installation) 10.0.26100.0 <10.0.26100.33650
Windows Server 2022 10.0.20348.0 <10.0.20348.5761
Windows Server 2019 (Server Core installation) 10.0.17763.0 <10.0.17763.9376
Windows 11 Version 25H2 10.0.26200.0 <10.0.26200.9711
Windows 11 Version 26H2 10.0.26300.0 <10.0.26300.9711
Windows Server 2016 (Server Core installation) 10.0.14393.0 <10.0.14393.9612
Windows Server 2012 (Server Core installation) 6.2.9200.0 <6.2.9200.26434
Windows Server 2019 10.0.17763.0 <10.0.17763.9376
Windows 10 Version 22H2 10.0.19045.0 <10.0.19044.7807
Windows 11 Version 23H2 10.0.22631.0 <10.0.22631.7652
Windows Server 2016 10.0.14393.0 <10.0.14393.9612
Windows Server 2012 6.2.9200.0 <6.2.9200.26434
Windows 11 version 26H1 10.0.28000.0 <10.0.28000.3231
Windows 11 Version 24H2 10.0.26100.0 <10.0.26100.9711
Windows Server 2012 R2 6.3.9600.0 <6.3.9600.23470
Windows 10 Version 1607 10.0.14393.0 <10.0.14393.9612

Affected Packages

euvd windows_10_version_1607 fix: 10.0.14393.9612
euvd windows_10_version_1809 fix: 10.0.17763.9376
euvd windows_10_version_21h2 fix: 10.0.19044.7807
euvd windows_10_version_22h2 fix: 10.0.19044.7807
euvd windows_11_version_23h2 fix: 10.0.22631.7652
euvd windows_11_version_24h2 fix: 10.0.26100.9711
euvd windows_11_version_25h2 fix: 10.0.26200.9711
euvd windows_11_version_26h1 fix: 10.0.28000.3231
euvd windows_11_version_26h2 fix: 10.0.26300.9711
euvd windows_server_2012 fix: 6.2.9200.26434
euvd windows_server_2012_r2 fix: 6.3.9600.23470
euvd windows_server_2012_r2_server_core_installation fix: 6.3.9600.23470
euvd windows_server_2012_server_core_installation fix: 6.2.9200.26434
euvd windows_server_2016 fix: 10.0.14393.9612
euvd windows_server_2016_server_core_installation fix: 10.0.14393.9612
euvd windows_server_2019 fix: 10.0.17763.9376
euvd windows_server_2019_server_core_installation fix: 10.0.17763.9376
euvd windows_server_2022 fix: 10.0.20348.5761
euvd windows_server_2025 fix: 10.0.26100.33650
euvd windows_server_2025_server_core_installation fix: 10.0.26100.33650

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

Windows Error Reporting is the Windows subsystem that captures application crashes, generates minidumps, and can forward reports to Microsoft's Watson service through components such as WerFault.exe and the Windows Error Reporting service (WerSvc). CVE-2026-85800 is a CWE-122 heap-based buffer overflow in that subsystem: memory handling during report or dump processing fails to validate the size of attacker-influenced data before copying it into a heap buffer, corrupting heap metadata or adjacent objects. The CVSS vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) means a local, low-privileged caller can reach the vulnerable path without end-user interaction, and successful exploitation yields high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact within the same security scope, i.e., escalation from standard user to a higher-privileged execution context. The SSVC entry rates exploitation as none and automatable as no while technical impact is total, matching the independent assessment that this is a genuine but conditional local privilege-escalation primitive: the chief barriers are the requirement for prior local access and a valid low-privilege session, and the need to specifically interact with the WER subsystem to reach the overflow.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

Vendor (microsoft) PRIMARY 7.8 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
vuln.today AI 7.8 HIGH

Local-only EoP requiring an existing low-privileged session (AV:L, PR:L), no user interaction, yielding full SYSTEM compromise so C/I/A all High.

3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.0 AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).

CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

2
Patch available
Oct 13, 2026 - 20:20 EUVD
CVE Published
Oct 13, 2026 - 19:21 cve.org
HIGH 7.8

DescriptionCVE.org

Heap-based buffer overflow in Windows Error Reporting allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

A privilege-escalation flaw in Microsoft Windows Error Reporting affects every supported Windows client and server branch, letting an attacker who already holds a standard-user foothold on a machine take full SYSTEM-level control of that host. Because it requires no user interaction and works locally, it sharply increases the payoff of any initial access an adversary gains - a limited workstation compromise becomes full administrative control. Leadership should care because the exposure spans the entire Windows estate, including Server Core deployments, and is remediated through routine patching that must be tracked to completion rather than assumed.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.3%
Top 77% exploitable
Prevalence
Ubiquitous
Core Microsoft Windows OS component present on virtually all Windows hosts
Vendor Status
Publicly Disclosed:No
Exploited:No
Latest Software Release:Exploitation Less Likely
Data Quality
5 sources
Confidence: Medium

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.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.3%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision
Defer
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable
No
Human Impact
High
Technical Impact
Total

Priority Score

39
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +39
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

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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