CVE-2026-42902: CWE-285: Improper Authorization in Microsoft Microsoft PowerToys
Improper authorization in Microsoft PowerToys allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
This vulnerability (CVE-2026-42902) in Microsoft PowerToys is classified as CWE-285 (Improper Authorization). It allows an attacker who already has some level of authorization on the local system to escalate their privileges. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 7.8, indicating high severity, with impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The vulnerability affects version 0.1 of Microsoft PowerToys. Microsoft has published an official fix to remediate this issue.
Potential Impact
An authorized local attacker can exploit this vulnerability to elevate their privileges, potentially gaining higher access rights than intended. This can lead to full system compromise, including unauthorized access to sensitive data and the ability to modify system configurations or software.
Mitigation Recommendations
An official fix is available from Microsoft. Users and administrators should apply the patch provided by Microsoft as detailed in the vendor advisory at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-42902 to remediate this vulnerability.
CVE-2026-42902: CWE-285: Improper Authorization in Microsoft Microsoft PowerToys
Description
Improper authorization in Microsoft PowerToys allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
CVSS v3.1
Score 7.8high
Affected software
Microsoft
Microsoft PowerToys
Weaknesses
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
This vulnerability (CVE-2026-42902) in Microsoft PowerToys is classified as CWE-285 (Improper Authorization). It allows an attacker who already has some level of authorization on the local system to escalate their privileges. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 7.8, indicating high severity, with impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The vulnerability affects version 0.1 of Microsoft PowerToys. Microsoft has published an official fix to remediate this issue.
Potential Impact
An authorized local attacker can exploit this vulnerability to elevate their privileges, potentially gaining higher access rights than intended. This can lead to full system compromise, including unauthorized access to sensitive data and the ability to modify system configurations or software.
Mitigation Recommendations
An official fix is available from Microsoft. Users and administrators should apply the patch provided by Microsoft as detailed in the vendor advisory at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-42902 to remediate this vulnerability.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- microsoft
- Date Reserved
- 2026-04-30T22:35:54.967Z
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Remediation Level
- official-fix
- Vendor Advisory Urls
- [{"url":"https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-42902","vendor":"Microsoft"}]
Threat ID: 6a284cc08dd33fbd856646d9
Added to database: 06/09/2026, 17:26:24 UTC
Last enriched: 08/14/2026, 13:30:42 UTC
Last updated: 09/13/2026, 10:01:31 UTC
Views: 131
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