Description

Use of uninitialized resource in Microsoft COM for Windows allows an authorized attacker to disclose information locally.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "5.5",
  "pubDate": "2026-08-11T17:18:08.170Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-08-11T17:18:08.170Z",
  "executiveSummary": "This vulnerability involves the use of an uninitialized resource within Microsoft COM for Windows, presenting a local information disclosure risk.\nThe primary impact of successful exploitation is the unauthorized exposure of sensitive memory contents or system data to a local user.\nThe affected product is Microsoft COM for Windows, impacting systems where the uninitialized resource handling flaw exists.\nRisk implications center on the potential leakage of confidential information, which could facilitate further local privilege escalation or advanced persistent threat activities.\nAttacker capabilities require local access to the target system.\nExploitation requirements dictate that the attacker must already be authorized to execute code locally on the underlying operating system to interact with the vulnerable Microsoft COM component.",
  "technicalDetails": "The root cause of the vulnerability stems from improper initialization of memory resources within Microsoft COM for Windows during specific component lifecycles or inter-process communication routines.\nWhen a component interacts with the vulnerable interface, the operating system fails to properly zero out or initialize allocated memory structures before they are accessed or returned to the caller.\nThe vulnerable component resides within the Microsoft COM subsystem responsible for managing object instantiation, marshaling, or state persistence.\nAuthentication requirements dictate that the attacker must possess valid local credentials and authorization to execute code in the context of the local session.\nPrivilege requirements are limited to standard local user access, as the vulnerability can be leveraged by authorized local attackers without requiring elevated administrative privileges.\nNetwork exposure is strictly local; the attack vector does not permit remote exploitation across a network boundary, requiring direct or interactive local execution.\nThe exploitation method involves crafting specialized application logic or leveraging existing APIs that invoke the vulnerable Microsoft COM methods in a sequence designed to read stale memory contents.\nThe attack flow proceeds as follows: First, the local attacker initiates a COM object instantiation or method call targeting the vulnerable subsystem. Second, due to the failure to initialize internal buffers or memory allocations, the component populates response structures with residual data residing in physical or virtual memory. Third, the uninitialized resource data is returned to the calling process controlled by the attacker. Finally, the attacker parses the returned structure to extract sensitive information leaked from kernel space or other application contexts.\nPayload behavior centers on passive data harvesting rather than active code execution, extracting remnants of cryptographic keys, session tokens, or internal system addresses stored within the uninitialized memory pages.\nThe post-exploitation impact includes the potential aggregation of leaked memory artifacts, which can be analyzed offline to bypass security controls or prepare subsequent exploit chains targeting other local vulnerabilities."
}