Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessAuthenticate as low-privileged local user
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ExploitLaunch crafted PowerShell session
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ExecutionBypass PowerShell protection mechanism
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ImpactExecute across security boundary with full impact
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Object-level authorization, IDOR prevention
|
| Exploitation Conditions | Requires an attacker who already has local, authenticated, low-privileged access to the Windows host and the ability to run PowerShell (PR:L, AV:L, UI:N) - there is no remote or unauthenticated path. The attacker then abuses the flaw to bypass a PowerShell protection mechanism/security feature, crossing a security boundary (S:C) for full impact. Limiting factors that reduce real-world risk: the mandatory pre-existing local foothold, the authenticated low-privilege prerequisite, and SSVC Automatable=no (not scannable/wormable). The exact security feature that is bypassed is not named in the MSRC description, so defenders cannot pin exploitation to a single named configuration; all supported Windows editions in the listed version ranges are affected regardless of a special opt-in setting. |
| Impact | Signals are moderately consistent and point to a real but not emergency-tier issue. The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H, base 8.8) describes a locally-exploitable flaw requiring a low-privileged authenticated foothold, with no user interaction and a scope change that yields total confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact - the scope change is what pushes an otherwise local issue to 8.8. CISA's SSVC decision framework aligns with and tempers this: Exploitation=none (no observed activity), Automatable=no (consistent with AV:L requiring pre-existing local access, so no mass/wormable scanning), but Technical Impact=total (matching C:H/I:H/A:H). It is NOT in CISA KEV and no public exploit is identified, so exploitation status is 'no public exploit identified at time of analysis.' EPSS is not provided in the input, so probabilistic exploitation likelihood cannot be quantified here. Net: this is a credible privilege/security-boundary bypass worth prioritized patching on managed Windows fleets, but the local-access precondition and absence of exploitation evidence place it below internet-facing unauthenticated criticals. One data tension to verify: the CWE is CWE-639 (authorization bypass) and the description frames it as a protection-mechanism/security-feature bypass, whereas the input Tag says 'Authentication Bypass' - authorization/security-feature bypass is the more accurate framing. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | A low-privileged but authenticated local user on an affected Windows host (e.g., a standard user or a constrained PowerShell session) executes crafted PowerShell that defeats a PowerShell security feature, escaping the intended restriction and gaining execution across a security boundary with full system impact. No public exploit code is identified, so an attacker would need to develop the technique; the local, no-user-interaction nature (AV:L/UI:N) means it chains cleanly after any initial access. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 14, 2026
Windows PowerShell on supported Windows client and server editions fails to enforce a protection mechanism, letting a locally authenticated low-privileged attacker bypass a security feature and operate outside the intended security boundary, achieving high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact (CVSS 8.8, scope-changed). Exploitation requires a pre-existing local foothold and the ability to run PowerShell on the host - there is no remote or unauthenticated path, and CISA's SSVC assessment rates exploitation as 'none' with Automatable=no, meaning the issue is not wormable or easily mass-scanned. There is no public exploit identified at time of analysis, though the technical impact is rated total once the prerequisite access is obtained; Microsoft has released fixes and the MSRC update guide is the authoritative remediation source.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: Microsoft has published fixes for CVE-2026-70185 through its update guide (https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-70185), with fixed builds such as 10.0.26100.33650 for Windows Server 2025, 10.0.26100.9711 for Windows 11 24H2, 10.0.26200.9711 for Windows 11 25H2, 10.0.22631.7652 for Windows 11 23H2, 10.0.28000.3231 for Windows 11 26H1, 10.0.26300.9711 for Windows 11 26H2, 10.0.19044.7807 for Windows 10 21H2/22H2, 10.0.14393.9612 for Windows 10 1607 and Server 2016, 10.0.17763.9376 for Windows 10 1809 and Server 2019, 10.0.20348.5761 for Windows Server 2022, 6.3.9600.23470 for Windows Server 2012 R2 and 6.2.9200.26434 for Windows Server 2012; install the corresponding monthly cumulative update and reboot, prioritising internet-exposed terminal servers, jump hosts and multi-user systems where untrusted users already hold interactive logons. Because exploitation requires an existing authenticated local foothold (PR:L, AV:L, UI:N) and SSVC rates it non-automatable, patching can be scheduled against normal risk rather than emergency change, but it should not be deferred indefinitely given the total technical impact once access exists. Compensating controls, all with trade-offs, include enforcing PowerShell ConstrainedLanguageMode or AppLocker/WDAC script and application control on all endpoints and servers (which can break legitimate administrative automation and unsigned scripts), deploying Just Enough Administration (JEA) endpoints to limit what any given local user can invoke (which requires upfront role-capability authoring), and reducing the population of accounts with interactive or remote PowerShell access, especially on server-core and multi-session hosts. Note that the specific bypassed security feature is not named in the vendor description, so defenders cannot rely on disabling one particular setting as a substitute for the patch; without installing the fixed builds, treat any local low-privileged user able to run PowerShell as capable of crossing the security boundary.
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 rooted in CWE-639 (Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key), the class of defects where an application trusts an identifier or parameter supplied by the user instead of validating it against the caller's authorization context. In the PowerShell context, this manifests as a protection-mechanism failure: a security feature that PowerShell relies on to constrain what a caller may do can be subverted by a local user who controls the key or parameter driving that check. Microsoft's description does not name the specific security feature being bypassed, so defenders cannot scope exposure to a single named configuration such as a particular language mode or policy setting. The CVSS vector CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H confirms the attack is local (AV:L), low-complexity (AC:L), requires low privileges (PR:L), needs no user interaction (UI:N), and crosses a security boundary (S:C) with high impact across confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Because scope is changed, the compromise of the PowerShell execution context is assessed as affecting resources beyond that component's own security authority. All supported Windows editions in the listed build ranges carry the same PowerShell component and are therefore in scope regardless of any opt-in hardening setting.
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Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Local PowerShell execution needs an authenticated low-privileged user (AV:L/PR:L) with no interaction; bypassing the security feature crosses a trust boundary (S:C) for total impact.
Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).
CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Protection mechanism failure in Windows PowerShell allows an authorized attacker to bypass a security feature locally.
Executive ViewAI
A high-severity security feature bypass in Microsoft Windows PowerShell lets an attacker who already holds a low-privileged local account step outside an intended security boundary and operate with full access to the affected host's data, configuration, and availability. Because exploitation requires prior local access rather than a remote or unauthenticated path, the practical risk is privilege escalation and onward lateral movement by insiders, compromised service accounts, or attackers who have already landed a foothold on a workstation or server. Leadership should treat this as a patch-governance and containment priority across the Windows estate rather than an internet-facing emergency, since unpatched systems preserve a durable escalation route for anyone who gains even minimal local access.
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-2026-99607
GHSA-pq3q-phj8-34hj
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
VulDB
Exploit-DB