This vulnerability (CVE-2026-26165) involves a use-after-free condition in the Windows Shell on Windows 11 version 22H3 (build 10.0.22631.0). Exploitation requires local access with some privileges and no user interaction is needed. Successful exploitation could lead to privilege escalation, granting the attacker higher system privileges. Microsoft has published an official fix to remediate this vulnerability.

An authorized local attacker can exploit this use-after-free vulnerability to elevate their privileges on the affected Windows 11 system. This could allow the attacker to execute code with higher privileges, potentially compromising system integrity, confidentiality, and availability.

An official fix is available from Microsoft for this vulnerability. Users and administrators should apply the provided security update from the Microsoft Update Guide to remediate the issue. No additional mitigation steps are indicated by the vendor advisory.