CVE-2026-96305: CWE-416: Use After Free in Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1607
Description
CVE-2026-96305 is a use-after-free vulnerability in Windows Installer on Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1607 and other specified versions. It allows an authorized local attacker to elevate privileges. The vulnerability has a high severity score and has been officially fixed by Microsoft.
CVSS v3.1
Score 7.0high
Affected software
Microsoft
Windows 10 Version 1607
Microsoft
Windows 10 Version 1809
Microsoft
Windows 10 Version 21H2
Microsoft
Windows 10 Version 22H2
Microsoft
Windows 11 version 23H2
Microsoft
Windows 11 Version 23H2
Microsoft
Windows 11 Version 24H2
Microsoft
Windows 11 Version 25H2
Microsoft
Windows 11 version 26H1
Microsoft
Windows 11 Version 26H2
Microsoft
Windows Server 2012
Microsoft
Windows Server 2012 (Server Core installation)
Microsoft
Windows Server 2012 R2
Microsoft
Windows Server 2012 R2 (Server Core installation)
Microsoft
Windows Server 2016
Microsoft
Windows Server 2016 (Server Core installation)
Microsoft
Windows Server 2019
Microsoft
Windows Server 2019 (Server Core installation)
Microsoft
Windows Server 2022
Microsoft
Windows Server 2025
Microsoft
Windows Server 2025 (Server Core installation)
Weaknesses
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
This vulnerability, identified as CVE-2026-96305 and categorized under CWE-416 (Use After Free), affects Windows Installer components in multiple versions of Microsoft Windows 10, including Version 1607 and others. An authorized attacker with local access can exploit this flaw to elevate their privileges on the affected system. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 7.0, indicating high severity, with attack vector local, high attack complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction, and impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Microsoft has released official fixes for the affected versions.
Potential Impact
An authorized local attacker can exploit this use-after-free vulnerability to elevate their privileges, potentially gaining higher-level access than intended. This can lead to full system compromise, including unauthorized access to sensitive information and disruption of system availability.
Mitigation Recommendations
Microsoft has released official patches addressing this vulnerability. Users and administrators should apply the updates provided by Microsoft for the affected Windows 10 versions as soon as possible to remediate this issue.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- microsoft
- Date Reserved
- 2026-09-22T22:31:49.522Z
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Remediation Level
- official-fix
- Vendor Advisory Urls
- [{"url":"https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-96305","vendor":"Microsoft"}]
Threat ID: 6ace85772cdf04f656a00476
Added to database: 10/13/2026, 19:24:39 UTC
Last enriched: 10/14/2026, 00:33:23 UTC
Last updated: 10/14/2026, 00:33:23 UTC
Views: 2
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