CVE-2026-68820 is a use-after-free vulnerability in the Microsoft Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock. An authorized local attacker can exploit the flaw to elevate privileges. Microsoft assigned a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.0 (High), with vector AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. The vulnerability affects multiple supported Windows client and server releases and was reported as actively exploited.
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What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.
What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.
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Patch, then assume compromise.
No valid public exploits. Mallory filtered out 4 candidates as fakes, detection scripts, or README-only repos.
All candidate exploits were filtered out by Mallory's validation.
Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.
Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.
282 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.
A Windows AFD use-after-free vulnerability mentioned as a contrast to CVE-2026-69836 because it reportedly has confirmed in-the-wild exploitation despite a lower CVSS score.
A Windows WinSock driver privilege-escalation flaw that is being exploited by Lazarus Group and is significant enough to have a CISA KEV remediation deadline for U.S. federal agencies.
A high-severity privilege escalation vulnerability affecting Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock.
An Important-severity Windows elevation of privilege vulnerability affecting most versions of Windows. It is notable because the content states it is under active exploitation in the wild and would likely be used as part of a larger attack chain for local privilege escalation.
Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.
Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.
Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.
YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.
Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.
Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.