CVE-2026-20928: CWE-212: Improper Removal of Sensitive Information Before Storage or Transfer in Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1607
Improper removal of sensitive information before storage or transfer in Windows Recovery Environment Agent allows an unauthorized attacker to bypass a security feature with a physical attack.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
This vulnerability (CVE-2026-20928) involves improper removal of sensitive information before storage or transfer within the Windows Recovery Environment Agent in Windows 10 Version 1607 (build 10.0.14393.0). The weakness corresponds to CWE-212, indicating failure to properly clear sensitive data. An attacker with physical access could exploit this to bypass security features. Microsoft has published an official fix to address this issue.
Potential Impact
The vulnerability allows unauthorized physical attackers to bypass security features by exploiting residual sensitive information that was not properly removed. The impact is limited to confidentiality (high impact on confidentiality), with no direct impact on integrity or availability. No known exploits are reported in the wild.
Mitigation Recommendations
An official fix is available from Microsoft. Users and administrators should apply the security update provided by Microsoft for Windows 10 Version 1607 to remediate this vulnerability. Refer to the Microsoft advisory at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-20928 for the update details and installation instructions.
CVE-2026-20928: CWE-212: Improper Removal of Sensitive Information Before Storage or Transfer in Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1607
Description
Improper removal of sensitive information before storage or transfer in Windows Recovery Environment Agent allows an unauthorized attacker to bypass a security feature with a physical attack.
CVSS v3.1
Score 4.6medium
Affected software
Weaknesses
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
This vulnerability (CVE-2026-20928) involves improper removal of sensitive information before storage or transfer within the Windows Recovery Environment Agent in Windows 10 Version 1607 (build 10.0.14393.0). The weakness corresponds to CWE-212, indicating failure to properly clear sensitive data. An attacker with physical access could exploit this to bypass security features. Microsoft has published an official fix to address this issue.
Potential Impact
The vulnerability allows unauthorized physical attackers to bypass security features by exploiting residual sensitive information that was not properly removed. The impact is limited to confidentiality (high impact on confidentiality), with no direct impact on integrity or availability. No known exploits are reported in the wild.
Mitigation Recommendations
An official fix is available from Microsoft. Users and administrators should apply the security update provided by Microsoft for Windows 10 Version 1607 to remediate this vulnerability. Refer to the Microsoft advisory at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-20928 for the update details and installation instructions.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- microsoft
- Date Reserved
- 2025-12-04T20:04:16.336Z
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Remediation Level
- official-fix
- Vendor Advisory Urls
- [{"url":"https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-20928","vendor":"Microsoft"}]
Threat ID: 69de7a1482d89c981fd6a5e3
Added to database: 04/14/2026, 17:32:04 UTC
Last enriched: 06/19/2026, 16:56:44 UTC
Last updated: 07/31/2026, 19:22:57 UTC
Views: 135
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