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Windows Kernel Use-After-Free Elevation of Privilege

IdentifiersCVE-2026-26132CWE-416· Use After Free

CVE-2026-26132 is a use-after-free vulnerability in the Windows Kernel that allows a local, authorized attacker to elevate privileges. The available reporting identifies the bug class as a kernel use-after-free and classifies the issue as an elevation-of-privilege flaw in Windows Kernel. Microsoft assessed exploitation as more likely, with reporting indicating low attack complexity, no user interaction, and no special privileges required beyond local authorized access. Specific vulnerable functions or code paths were not provided in the supplied content.

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For your environment

Are you exposed to this one?

Mallory correlates every CVE against your assets, your vendors, and active adversary campaigns. Know which vulnerabilities matter for you, not just which ones are loud.

ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.

Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

Successful exploitation allows a local attacker to elevate privileges on the affected Windows system, potentially obtaining administrator- or SYSTEM-level execution depending on the exploitation path and target context. This can enable full compromise of the local host, including execution of arbitrary code in a highly privileged context, disabling or bypassing security controls, credential theft, persistence, and use of the compromised system for further lateral movement.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

If immediate patching is not possible, reduce exposure by limiting local access to systems, restricting the ability of untrusted users to obtain interactive logon or code execution on endpoints and servers, enforcing least privilege, and monitoring for suspicious local privilege-escalation activity. These are general risk-reduction measures only; no vulnerability-specific workaround or official mitigation was provided in the supplied content.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Apply the Microsoft security update released for CVE-2026-26132 as part of the March 2026 Patch Tuesday updates. Because Microsoft assessed this vulnerability as more likely to be exploited and the flaw affects the Windows Kernel, affected Windows systems should be patched through normal but prompt enterprise patch deployment processes. No more specific product-side remediation details were provided in the supplied content.
PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

No public exploits tracked yet. Mallory keeps watching.

VALID 0 / 0 TOTALView more in app

No public exploit code observed for this vulnerability.

EXPOSURE SURFACE

Affected products & vendors

Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.

VendorProductType
Microsoft CorporationWindows 10 21h2operating_system
Microsoft CorporationWindows 10 22h2operating_system
Microsoft CorporationWindows 11 23h2operating_system
Microsoft CorporationWindows 11 24h2operating_system
Microsoft CorporationWindows 11 25h2operating_system
Microsoft CorporationWindows 11 26h1operating_system
Microsoft CorporationWindows Server 2022operating_system
Microsoft CorporationWindows Server 2022 23h2operating_system
Microsoft CorporationWindows Server 2025operating_system
Microsoft CorporationWindows Server 23h2operating_system

Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.

What this page doesn’t show

The version that knows your environment.

This page is what’s public. Mallory adds the parts that aren’t: which of your assets are affected, which adversaries are exploiting it right now, which detections to deploy, and what to do tonight.
Exposure mapping

Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.

Threat actor evidence

Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.

Associated malware

Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.

Detection signatures1

YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.

Vendor-by-vendor mapping

Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.

Social activity5

Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.