CVE-2026-49173: CWE-416: Use After Free in Microsoft Windows 11 version 26H1
Use after free in Windows Kernel allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
This vulnerability involves a use-after-free condition in the Windows Kernel component of Microsoft Windows 11 version 26H1 (build 10.0.28000.0). Exploitation requires local access with some privileges and does not require user interaction. Successful exploitation could lead to full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact by elevating privileges locally. Microsoft has published an official fix for this vulnerability.
Potential Impact
An authorized local attacker can exploit this use-after-free vulnerability to elevate privileges on the affected system, potentially gaining higher-level access and control. The CVSS score of 7.8 indicates high severity with significant impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Mitigation Recommendations
Microsoft has released an official fix for this vulnerability. Users and administrators should apply the available security updates as provided in the Microsoft advisory at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-49173 to remediate this issue.
CVE-2026-49173: CWE-416: Use After Free in Microsoft Windows 11 version 26H1
Description
Use after free in Windows Kernel allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
CVSS v3.1
Score 7.8high
Affected software
Weaknesses
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
This vulnerability involves a use-after-free condition in the Windows Kernel component of Microsoft Windows 11 version 26H1 (build 10.0.28000.0). Exploitation requires local access with some privileges and does not require user interaction. Successful exploitation could lead to full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact by elevating privileges locally. Microsoft has published an official fix for this vulnerability.
Potential Impact
An authorized local attacker can exploit this use-after-free vulnerability to elevate privileges on the affected system, potentially gaining higher-level access and control. The CVSS score of 7.8 indicates high severity with significant impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Mitigation Recommendations
Microsoft has released an official fix for this vulnerability. Users and administrators should apply the available security updates as provided in the Microsoft advisory at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-49173 to remediate this issue.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- microsoft
- Date Reserved
- 2026-05-27T23:44:09.623Z
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Remediation Level
- official-fix
- Vendor Advisory Urls
- [{"url":"https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-49173","vendor":"Microsoft"}]
Threat ID: 6a566f6b68715ace43e6b3d5
Added to database: 07/14/2026, 17:18:35 UTC
Last enriched: 08/13/2026, 14:21:23 UTC
Last updated: 08/25/2026, 22:52:12 UTC
Views: 40
Community Reviews
0 reviewsCrowdsource mitigation strategies, share intel context, and vote on the most helpful responses. Sign in to add your voice and help keep defenders ahead.
Want to contribute mitigation steps or threat intel context? Sign in or create an account to join the community discussion.
Actions
Updates to AI analysis require Pro Console access. Upgrade inside Console → Billing.
External Links
Need more coverage?
Upgrade to Pro Console for AI refresh and higher limits.
For incident response and remediation, OffSeq services can help resolve threats faster.
Latest Threats
Check if your credentials are on the dark web
Instant breach scanning across billions of leaked records. Free tier available.