Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
-
AccessObtain low-privileged local session
-
DeliveryInvoke Windows Fax and Scan Service
-
ExploitTrigger heap buffer overflow (CWE-122)
-
ExecutionExecute code in service context
-
ImpactElevate to SYSTEM-level 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 | Requires the Windows Fax and Scan Service to be present and reachable by the attacker's local session; exploitation demands prior local access as an authenticated low-privileged user (PR:L, AV:L) who can invoke the service. Limiting factors: no remote network vector exists, so the attacker must already have a foothold on the host; impact is confined to the local machine (S:U, no scope change). No special user interaction is needed (UI:N) and attack complexity is low (AC:L). Hosts where standard users cannot reach the Fax and Scan Service, or where it is disabled/removed, are not exposed. |
| Impact | This is a credible but second-tier priority: a CWE-122 heap-based buffer overflow in the Windows Fax and Scan Service yielding local privilege elevation. The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, base 7.8) is internally consistent with the description - local attack vector, low attack complexity, and low privileges required (an authenticated standard user), with total CIA impact on the host once exploited. Multiple signals argue AGAINST treating this as an emergency: it is NOT listed in CISA KEV, no public proof-of-concept is identified, and CISA's SSVC assessment explicitly rates Exploitation as 'none' and Automatable as 'no'. The one signal pointing to high consequence is SSVC Technical Impact 'total', which aligns with the C:H/I:H/A:H full-SYSTEM-compromise outcome. No EPSS score was provided, so exploitation probability cannot be quantified. Net: a genuine local EoP worth patching in routine cycles (and faster on multi-user or shared hosts), but the absence of KEV listing, POC, and automatability means it is not a drop-everything issue. Note the signals are not conflicting - all sources agree exploitation is local and not yet observed in the wild. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker who already has a low-privileged authenticated session on a Windows host (e.g., via phishing, stolen credentials, or an initial foothold) runs a crafted local program that triggers the heap-based buffer overflow in the Fax and Scan Service to corrupt memory and execute code in the service's higher-privilege context. No user interaction is required and attack complexity is low, but the attacker must first have local code execution as some user. No public exploit code is identified at time of analysis. |
Get an e-mail when this CVE is exploited, patched or re-scored. Free account.
Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 13, 2026
Local privilege escalation in the Microsoft Windows Fax and Scan Service lets an authenticated low-privileged user on the host trigger a heap-based buffer overflow (CWE-122) and gain code execution at a higher integrity level, including SYSTEM. The flaw is rated CVSS 7.8 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), meaning the attacker must already hold a local foothold and valid credentials but needs no user interaction and faces low attack complexity; hosts where the Fax and Scan Service is disabled, removed, or unreachable by standard users are not exposed. Per CISA SSVC the exploitation status is "none" and the issue is not automatable, and no public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis - this is a credible but second-tier patch-priority item rather than an active emergency.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: apply the Microsoft update for CVE-2026-87707 so each host reaches the fixed build listed in the EUVD data - 10.0.28000.2954 (Windows 11 26H1), 10.0.26200.9445 (Windows 11 25H2), 10.0.26100.9445 (Windows 11 24H2) or 10.0.26100.33438 (Windows Server 2025 and Server Core), 10.0.22631.7582 (Windows 11 23H2), 10.0.20348.5622 (Windows Server 2022), 10.0.19045.7725 (Windows 10 22H2) or 10.0.19044.7725 (Windows 10 21H2), 10.0.17763.9245 (Windows 10 1809 / Server 2019 and Server Core), 10.0.14393.9512 (Windows 10 1607 / Server 2016 and Server Core), 6.3.9600.23398 (Windows Server 2012 R2 and Server Core), and 6.2.9200.26349 (Windows Server 2012 and Server Core), as described in the Microsoft Security Update Guide at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-87707. Where immediate patching is not possible, reduce exposure by stopping and disabling the Fax service (fxsrv/Fax) and removing the Fax and Scan feature on hosts - including server core and kiosk images - that do not require fax or scan functionality; the trade-off is loss of fax send/receive and scan-to-file workflows on those machines. On systems that must retain fax capability, restrict who can log on locally or interact with the service (for example, via user rights assignment and service permissions hardening) so that only trusted administrators hold the low-privileged local session the attack requires, and monitor for unexpected process creation or crashes originating from the Fax service as a detection backstop. No mitigating control fully substitutes for the cumulative update, since the defect is a memory-safety flaw rather than a misconfiguration.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 19 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 is a heap-based buffer overflow (CWE-122) in the Windows Fax and Scan Service, a legacy Windows component that handles fax send/receive operations, scan jobs, and associated print/fax device interaction, typically running under a privileged service account. CWE-122 occurs when a heap-allocated buffer is written past its boundary - commonly due to an incorrect length calculation, integer truncation, or missing bounds validation on attacker-influenced input - which can corrupt adjacent heap metadata and enable controlled memory writes that escalate to arbitrary code execution in the service's security context. Because the CVSS vector is AV:L with PR:L and UI:N, the attack path requires an existing local session as a low-privileged authenticated user who can invoke or interact with the service; there is no network-facing vector, and scope is unchanged (S:U), so impact is contained to the compromised host rather than spreading to other security authorities. Microsoft attributes the report to secure@microsoft.com and classifies the issue under its Windows Fax and Scan Service update track.
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:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Local-only EoP requiring a low-privileged authenticated session (AV:L, PR:L); low complexity and no UI; full host compromise within the same security scope gives C:H/I:H/A:H, S:U.
Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).
CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Heap-based buffer overflow in Windows Fax and Scan Service allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
Executive ViewAI
Microsoft Windows' Fax and Scan Service contains a local privilege-escalation flaw that lets an already-authenticated user on a host escalate to higher-integrity code execution, including SYSTEM, so any low-privileged foothold on an endpoint - a compromised user session or stolen credentials - can be converted into full control of that machine. Only endpoints where the service is enabled and reachable by standard users are exposed, and at the time of analysis no public exploit code or active exploitation has been identified, making this a scheduled patch priority rather than an emergency. Leadership should care because unpatched local escalation paths increase both the severity and the blast radius of any current or future incident across the affected Windows estate.
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.
A heap overflow occurs when a program writes data beyond the bounds of a buffer allocated in the heap memory region.
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
Twonky Server 8.5.2 on Linux and Windows allows unauthenticated access to the admin log file through a web service API b
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
Twonky Server 8.5.2 uses hard-coded cryptographic keys for encrypting the administrator password. Combined with the cred
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
EUVD-2026-99640
GHSA-q5wp-48qh-h89r
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB