Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessObtain low-privileged local foothold
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DeliveryInvoke crafted NTLM operation
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ExploitTrigger heap buffer overflow (CWE-122)
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ExecutionCorrupt heap and hijack execution
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ImpactElevate 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 have local, authenticated low-privileged code execution on the target Windows system (CVSS PR:L, AV:L) - this is a post-compromise privilege-escalation primitive, not a remote entry point. Once that foothold exists, no user interaction and no special configuration are needed (UI:N, AC:L): the NTLM component is a default, always-present part of Windows, so default installations of the listed client and server builds are affected. The key limiting factors are the need for prior local access and an existing (even if minimal) privilege level; there is no network-facing exposure, which substantially narrows realistic risk versus a remote flaw. |
| Impact | This is a credible but second-tier priority. The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, base 7.8) describes a local elevation-of-privilege flaw: the attacker must already have local, low-privileged code execution on the host before triggering the heap overflow, which bounds blast radius to post-compromise escalation rather than initial remote entry. CISA's SSVC framework aligns and tempers the picture - Exploitation: none (no observed or public exploitation), Automatable: no (consistent with a local EoP that cannot be mass-scanned/wormed), but Technical Impact: total (full C/I/A compromise of the host once exploited). No EPSS score, no CISA KEV listing, and no public POC were provided, so there is no evidence of in-the-wild use; this is NOT a confirmed actively-exploited bug. The signals are internally consistent (local vector + not-automatable + no exploitation + a flaw class, NTLM/heap overflow, that is hard to weaponize reliably), so there is no major contradiction to flag - the main caveat is simply that absence of EPSS/KEV/POC data means exploitation likelihood is inferred, not measured. Net: patch it on a normal-to-prompt cycle (classic Patch-Tuesday EoP used as a chaining primitive after initial access), but it is not a drop-everything network-exploitable emergency. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker who has already gained an initial low-privileged foothold on a Windows host (e.g. via phishing, a malicious document, or a compromised service account) runs a crafted local process that interacts with the NTLM component to trigger a heap-based buffer overflow, corrupting heap memory to hijack execution and escalate to SYSTEM. No user interaction is required and attack complexity is low, but local access and some existing privilege are prerequisites. No public exploit code was identified at the time of analysis. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 14, 2026
Local privilege escalation in Windows NTLM lets an attacker who already holds low-privileged, authenticated code execution on a Windows host corrupt heap memory and gain higher privileges (CVSS 7.8, CWE-122). The flaw is reachable without user interaction and on default installations, and because NTLM is a default, always-present Windows component, every client and server build listed by the vendor (Windows 10/11 and Windows Server 2016 through 2025) is affected. Exploitation is not confirmed actively exploited (no CISA KEV entry) and no public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis; CISA's SSVC assessment scores exploitation as none while flagging the technical impact on a successfully exploited system as total, so patching should be handled in a normal Patch Tuesday cadence rather than as an emergency.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: Microsoft has published fixes in its Security Update Guide (https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-83709); apply the latest cumulative update so each affected build reaches the fixed level listed in this advisory - 10.0.26100.9711 (Windows 11 24H2), 10.0.26200.9711 (25H2), 10.0.26300.9711 (26H2), 10.0.28000.3231 (26H1), 10.0.22631.7652 (23H2), 10.0.19044.7807 (Windows 10 21H2/22H2), 10.0.17763.9376 (Windows 10 1809 / Server 2019, including Server Core), 10.0.14393.9612 (Windows 10 1607 / Server 2016, including Server Core), 10.0.20348.5761 (Server 2022) and 10.0.26100.33650 (Server 2025, including Server Core). Because this is a local escalation primitive rather than a remotely reachable flaw, there is no meaningful network-side workaround; the practical compensating controls are to limit the blast radius of any existing foothold until updates are deployed - restrict local logon and interactive/RDP access to trusted administrators, enforce least privilege and remove unnecessary local admin rights so a low-privileged compromise cannot immediately be elevated, and keep credential material (e.g., cached domain credentials) off endpoints where possible. Blocking or disabling NTLM is sometimes proposed as a hardening measure, but it breaks legacy SMB, RPC and application authentication with NTLM-only dependencies and is risky in production; if attempted, do it only after a full audit of NTLM usage and with auditing mode enabled first, and note that it does not remove the vulnerable code path from unpatched systems.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 16 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) inside Windows' implementation of NTLM, the legacy challenge-response authentication protocol still used by Windows for SMB, RPC/DCOM, LDAP negotiation, HTTP/Negotiate fallback, and local credential handling. A heap overflow of this class means a length or bounds check on attacker-influenced input is missing or incorrect, so crafted NTLM message or token data is written past the end of a heap allocation, corrupting adjacent heap metadata or objects and giving the attacker a controlled write primitive that can be turned into code execution in the context of the process handling the NTLM exchange (potentially a privileged service such as LSASS). The CVSS 3.1 vector AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, which matches the independent assessment, confirms this is strictly a local, post-compromise primitive: the attacker must already have authenticated low-privileged access to the machine (PR:L) and no user interaction is needed (UI:N), so the flaw cannot be reached directly from the network. Notably, CISA's SSVC evaluation marks Automatable as 'no', meaning no reliable, repeatable exploitation technique has been observed, while Technical Impact is 'total' for a system already compromised.
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Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Local privilege escalation requires existing low-privileged local access (AV:L, PR:L), needs no user interaction or special setup (UI:N, AC:L), and yields full host compromise (C/I/A:H).
Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).
CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Heap-based buffer overflow in Windows NTLM allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
Executive ViewAI
A local privilege-escalation flaw in Microsoft Windows NTLM affects all supported Windows 10/11 and Windows Server 2016-2025 deployments, allowing an attacker with an existing foothold to elevate to higher privileges. Because NTLM is present by default across the estate, leadership should treat this as a broad patching obligation affecting both endpoints and servers, though current risk is normal-cadence rather than emergency. The primary organizational concern is an attacker converting limited access into administrative control on affected systems, increasing potential for data exposure, lateral movement, and service disruption.
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.
EUVD-2026-99960
GHSA-g382-w2p6-p59r
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB