Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessObtain low-privileged local code execution
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DeliveryIssue crafted Cloud Files driver operations
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ExploitWin race to trigger use-after-free in cldflt.sys
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ExecutionReclaim freed kernel object and corrupt memory
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ImpactExecute code as SYSTEM
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Memory lifecycle management
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 | Exploitation requires local, authenticated access with the ability to execute code on the target (PR:L, AV:L) - there is no remote or network-facing path. The attacker must interact with the Windows Cloud Files Mini Filter Driver (cldflt.sys), the component underpinning Files On-Demand / OneDrive placeholder (reparse point) functionality, which is present by default across supported Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server builds. The key limiting factor is the high attack complexity (AC:H): as a use-after-free, successful exploitation almost certainly depends on winning a kernel race condition to reuse the freed object, making reliable exploitation difficult and potentially requiring repeated attempts. No user interaction is required (UI:N), and no non-default configuration is needed since the driver is a standard OS component. |
| Impact | This is a locally-exploitable kernel elevation-of-privilege flaw (CWE-416 use-after-free) in the Windows Cloud Files Mini Filter Driver (cldflt.sys), carrying a vendor CVSS of 7.0 (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H). The signals paint a consistent moderate-priority picture rather than an emergency: the local attack vector (AV:L) and required low privileges (PR:L) mean an attacker must already have authenticated code-execution on the host, and the high attack complexity (AC:H) - typical of use-after-free bugs that require winning a kernel race condition - further limits reliable exploitation. No EPSS score, CISA KEV listing, or public proof-of-concept was provided in the intelligence, so there is no public exploit identified at time of analysis and no evidence of active exploitation. The full-triad impact (C:H/I:H/A:H) is accurate for a kernel UAF that yields SYSTEM. Net: this is a credible local privilege-escalation primitive valuable as a second-stage/post-compromise tool, but not a remotely-exploitable or mass-exploitable issue. Note a minor conflict to verify: the input Tags include 'Denial Of Service' while the description and CVSS (I:H) describe privilege elevation, not availability loss - the EoP framing from Microsoft should be treated as authoritative. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker who has already obtained low-privileged code execution on a Windows host (e.g., via phishing, a compromised standard user account, or a chained RCE) runs a crafted program that manipulates Cloud Files / Files On-Demand operations to trigger a use-after-free in the cldflt.sys kernel driver. By winning the required race condition and reclaiming the freed object, they corrupt kernel memory to execute code as SYSTEM. No public exploit was identified in the provided data, and the high attack complexity means exploitation is non-trivial and may require multiple attempts. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 14, 2026
Local privilege escalation in the Windows Cloud Files Mini Filter Driver (cldflt.sys) allows an authenticated attacker who can already execute code on a target host to trigger a use-after-free in kernel memory and elevate to SYSTEM. Microsoft rates the flaw 7.0 (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) because exploitation hinges on winning a kernel race condition, and the affected code is a standard OS component present by default on Windows 10 1809 through Windows 11 26H2 and Windows Server 2019 through 2025. There is no remote attack path, no user interaction is needed, no non-default configuration is required, and no public exploit code or confirmed in-the-wild exploitation was identified at time of analysis; a vendor patch is available.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: Microsoft addressed this in its monthly security update, and the fixed build levels are the upper bounds of the affected ranges above - Windows 11 23H2 10.0.22631.7652, Windows 11 24H2 10.0.26100.9711, Windows 11 25H2 10.0.26200.9711, Windows 11 26H2 10.0.26300.9711, Windows 11 26H1 10.0.28000.3231, Windows 10 21H2/22H2 10.0.19044.7807, Windows 10 1809 and Windows Server 2019 10.0.17763.9376, Windows Server 2022 10.0.20348.5761, and Windows Server 2025 (including Server Core) 10.0.26100.33650. Apply the corresponding cumulative update from https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-83696 and verify the reported OS build afterward; because the driver is a core OS component, there is no supported method to uninstall or disable cldflt.sys without breaking Files On-Demand and OneDrive placeholder synchronization, so patching is the only complete fix. As compensating controls until builds can be updated, restrict interactive logon and local code execution to trusted accounts (the flaw requires PR:L/AV:L, so reducing the number of users who can run code on a host directly shrinks the attack surface), enforce WDAC or AppLocker to block untrusted binaries, and prioritize remediation on multi-user systems such as RDS/Citrix hosts and servers where a low-privileged user escalating to SYSTEM yields full host compromise; each of these measures carries operational overhead or compatibility risk and none eliminates the underlying race-condition primitive, so they should be treated as temporary mitigations rather than substitutes for the patch.
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 vulnerability is a CWE-416 use-after-free in cldflt.sys, the Windows Cloud Files Mini Filter Driver that implements the Files On-Demand / cloud placeholder (reparse point) functionality used by OneDrive and similar sync clients. As a file-system minifilter, the driver runs in kernel mode and processes reparse-point and placeholder operations on behalf of user-mode callers, so a memory-management error in that path yields kernel pool corruption rather than a sandbox escape. A use-after-free means the driver frees an internal object (buffer, context, or callback structure) while a reference to it can still be dereferenced, letting an attacker reshape the freed allocation and induce a controlled reuse. The assessed vector (AV:L/PR:L/UI:N) confirms the attacker must already have local, authenticated code execution, and the high attack complexity (AC:H) reflects the near-certain need to win a race window to reuse the freed object reliably before it is reallocated. Successful construction of that primitive yields kernel-mode code execution with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact, matching the vendor's C:H/I:H/A:H rating; the accompanying tags for memory corruption and denial of service are consistent with a crashable, heap-manipulation class defect.
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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 kernel driver flaw needing an authenticated low-priv user (PR:L) and a hard-to-win race condition (AC:H); successful UAF yields SYSTEM, giving full C/I/A impact.
Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).
CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Use after free in Windows Cloud Files Mini Filter Driver allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
Executive ViewAI
A privilege-escalation flaw in cldflt.sys, a cloud-sync driver shipped by default in Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server 2019 through 2025, allows an attacker who has already gained a foothold on a machine to escalate to full SYSTEM control. Because the vulnerable driver is a standard, always-present operating system component, the affected population is effectively every Windows endpoint and server in the estate, including unmanaged and legacy builds, which makes remediation tracking unusually broad. Leadership should treat this as a fleet-wide patch-coordination problem that limits an intruder's ability to deepen access, rather than an imminent external threat.
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
Use-after-free vulnerabilities occur when a program continues to access memory through a pointer after that memory has been deallocated.
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EUVD-2026-99953
GHSA-xh64-cj2p-hgvx
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB