Description

Exposure of sensitive information to an unauthorized actor in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint allows an authorized attacker to disclose information locally.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "5.5",
  "pubDate": "2026-08-11T17:18:03.647Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-08-11T17:18:03.647Z",
  "executiveSummary": "An information disclosure vulnerability exists in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, specifically involving the exposure of sensitive information to an unauthorized actor. This security flaw enables an authorized attacker to achieve local information disclosure on target systems.\nThe vulnerability affects Microsoft Defender for Endpoint by improperly handling sensitive data streams, allowing local entities with specific access levels to bypass boundary restrictions and view confidential information. The primary impact is the unauthorized leakage of internal system or application data, which could potentially facilitate subsequent exploitation phases.\nRisk implications center around the compromise of confidentiality within the affected endpoint environment. The attacker capabilities are limited to local disclosure, requiring the threat actor to already possess a execution foothold or authorized presence on the local host.\nExploitation requirements dictate that the attacker must operate locally on the target system to interact with vulnerable components. While no remote network vectors are specified, the local nature of the attack relies on authenticated access to query or harvest the exposed sensitive information.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability stems from improper access control or insecure handling of sensitive data repositories within Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. The root cause involves the application failing to adequately restrict local access to internal data structures, logs, or memory spaces containing sensitive state information.\nThe vulnerable component resides within the core architecture of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, where security telemetry, caching, or diagnostic mechanisms process sensitive operational data. Because access permissions are insufficiently hardened, an unauthorized local actor can interact with these components to retrieve data intended to be restricted.\nRegarding authentication and privilege requirements, the attack requires the adversary to be authenticated locally on the affected system. The exploitation does not inherently demand elevated administrative privileges, provided the standard user context can interface with the vulnerable local endpoint interfaces or storage locations.\nThe attack flow proceeds as follows: First, the authorized attacker establishes local execution access on the target system running Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. Second, the attacker interacts with the vulnerable local component via documented or undocumented local mechanisms, such as file system paths, inter-process communication channels, or local APIs. Third, the component responds by returning sensitive data without performing adequate authorization checks against the requesting process or user context. Finally, the attacker harvests the disclosed information for use in lateral movement, reconnaissance, or further target profiling.\nThe payload behavior is strictly passive from a malicious code execution standpoint, focusing on data extraction rather than system alteration. The post-exploitation impact is characterized by the breach of confidentiality, where exposed system configurations, credentials, or internal operational metrics assist the attacker in planning advanced persistence or secondary attacks within the enterprise network."
}