Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessGain low-privileged local foothold
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DeliveryMount crafted FAT-formatted volume
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ExploitTrigger out-of-bounds write in Fast FAT driver
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ExecutionCorrupt kernel memory structures
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ImpactElevate privileges to SYSTEM
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Bounds checking, write limits
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 | Requires local, authenticated access to the target (PR:L) and the ability to make the Fast FAT driver parse attacker-controlled FAT filesystem metadata - in practice mounting or attaching a crafted FAT/FAT32/exFAT-style volume such as a USB device or disk image. Exploitation is limited by high attack complexity (AC:H), implying a race condition or precise memory-grooming requirement that is not reliably repeatable, and by the need for the attacker to already possess valid local credentials or code execution; there is no network vector and no user-interaction-driven remote path. Scope is unchanged (S:U), so impact is confined to the local host's kernel. |
| Impact | This is a legitimate but second-tier priority. The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N) describes a local privilege-escalation flaw requiring an already-authenticated low-privileged user AND high attack complexity, which is corroborated by the SSVC decision framework: Exploitation=none (no observed or public exploitation), Automatable=no, Technical Impact=total. These signals are consistent - all point to a high-ceiling impact (full SYSTEM/kernel compromise, reflected in C:H/I:H/A:H) gated behind meaningful preconditions and a non-trivial exploitation path. No EPSS score was provided in the input, and there is no CISA KEV listing and no POC indicator, so there is no public exploit identified at time of analysis. The 7.0 'High' base score is driven almost entirely by the total technical impact, not by ease of exploitation - the AC:H and PR:L metrics substantially dampen real-world risk. This is therefore a patch-in-normal-cycle issue for most environments rather than an emergency, with the caveat that privilege-escalation bugs like this are frequently chained after initial access, so it should still be prioritized on multi-user hosts and endpoints where untrusted users can run code. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | A low-privileged but authenticated local user (or malware already running in a limited user context after initial access) supplies or mounts a maliciously crafted FAT-formatted volume - for example a USB device or a VHD/disk image - causing the Windows Fast FAT driver to perform an out-of-bounds write in kernel memory. By grooming kernel memory and winning the required race/timing window (reflected by the high attack complexity), the attacker corrupts kernel structures to elevate to SYSTEM. No public exploit code or active exploitation is identified at time of analysis. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 13, 2026
Local privilege escalation in the Windows Fast FAT (fastfat.sys) driver allows an authenticated attacker to corrupt kernel memory and gain SYSTEM-level code execution on the affected host. The flaw is an out-of-bounds write (CWE-787) triggered when the driver parses attacker-controlled FAT/FAT32/exFAT filesystem metadata, so exploitation in practice requires mounting or attaching a crafted volume, disk image, or removable USB device while holding valid local credentials (CVSS 3.1: AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, base 7.0). There is no network vector and no public exploit identified at time of analysis; CISA SSVC rates exploitation as 'none' and automatable as 'no', and the high attack complexity implies a race or precise memory-grooming prerequisite that limits reliability, making this a legitimate but second-tier priority compared with remotely reachable or actively exploited Windows bugs. Microsoft has released fixes and the affected build ranges are documented for Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server 2012 through 2025.
RemediationAI
Patch available per vendor advisory: install the Microsoft cumulative update referenced in the MSRC advisory https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-85826, which raises affected systems to the fixed build levels listed in the EUVD data - for example Windows 10 22H2 to 10.0.19044.7807, Windows 11 24H2 to 10.0.26100.9711, Windows Server 2019 to 10.0.17763.9376, Windows Server 2022 to 10.0.20348.5761, and Windows Server 2025 to 10.0.26100.33650 - with equivalent builds for the remaining branches (6.2.9200.26434 for Server 2012, 6.3.9600.23470 for Server 2012 R2, 10.0.14393.9612 for Server 2016 / Windows 10 1607, 10.0.22631.7652 for Windows 11 23H2, 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 the Fast FAT driver to parse a crafted volume, effective compensating controls are exposure-reduction measures: disable automatic mounting of newly attached volumes (mountvol /N or the corresponding automount registry setting) so a plugged-in crafted USB device or mounted ISO is not parsed automatically, at the cost of manual mount steps for legitimate removable media; block or strictly control physical USB mass-storage and virtual disk attachment on high-value hosts and via policy, accepting reduced operational flexibility for users who transfer data by removable media; and, where disk images from untrusted sources must be inspected, perform that parsing in a disposable VM or sandbox that never handles production credentials, trading convenience for containment. Exploitation is local and requires valid credentials (PR:L) plus high attack complexity (AC:H), so standard endpoint hardening - removing unnecessary local accounts, restricting who can mount volumes, and monitoring for fastfat.sys-related bugchecks and pool corruption events - further reduces the residual risk until patching is complete.
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 vulnerability resides in fastfat.sys, the legacy Windows kernel-mode Fast FAT driver that implements the FAT12/FAT16/FAT32 and related on-disk formats and mounts volumes both for local disks and for removable media. Because the driver runs in kernel mode at high IRQL and processes raw on-disk structures such as boot sectors, FAT tables, and directory entries supplied by whoever authored the volume, a parsing error in one of those structures can write past the end of a kernel allocation. CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write) is the root-cause class here: insufficient validation of size, offset, or cluster-chain values before a copy or index operation lets an attacker-controlled length push data beyond the intended buffer, corrupting adjacent kernel pool memory. Successful corruption of kernel pool can be steered into a privilege-escalation primitive, yielding high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact (C:H/I:H/A:H) with unchanged scope (S:U), i.e., confined to the local machine's kernel. The assessed attack complexity of High (AC:H) indicates the write is not straightforwardly controlled and likely depends on a race window or on heap grooming to land the overflow on a useful target, which reduces but does not eliminate practical exploitability. CPE/EUVD data confirm the affected software is the Windows platform itself rather than an application: the fixed build numbers span Windows 10 1607/1809/21H2/22H2, Windows 11 23H2/24H2/25H2/26H1/26H2, and Windows Server 2012, 2012 R2, 2016, 2019, 2022, and 2025 in both Desktop Experience and Server Core installations.
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Severity by source
AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Local-only driver flaw reachable by an authenticated user (AV:L, PR:L), with AC:H for the required race/memory conditions, yielding full kernel compromise (C:H/I:H/A:H).
Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).
CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Out-of-bounds write in Windows Fast FAT Driver allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
Executive ViewAI
Windows 10 and Windows 11 endpoints and servers running affected builds carry a local privilege-escalation flaw in the Fast FAT (fastfat.sys) driver that would allow someone already holding valid credentials on a machine to seize full SYSTEM control of that host. Exploitation requires local access plus a crafted disk image, mounted volume, or removable USB device, and the high attack complexity limits reliability, so the exposure is contained to individually compromised hosts rather than spreading across the network. No public exploit code has been identified and Microsoft has released fixes, making this a disciplined patch-management priority rather than an emergency.
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
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.
Memory corruption occurs when a program writes data beyond the boundaries of allocated memory regions or accesses memory in unintended ways, violating the integrity of the process's address space.
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EUVD-2026-99535
GHSA-wr48-c228-xqjh
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB