Description

Out-of-bounds read in Windows Management Instrumentation allows an authorized attacker to disclose information locally.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "5.5",
  "pubDate": "2026-08-11T17:18:25.470Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-08-11T17:18:25.470Z",
  "executiveSummary": "An out-of-bounds read vulnerability exists within Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), affecting local system operations. The primary impact of this security flaw is unauthorized information disclosure, potentially exposing sensitive data residing in memory. The vulnerability resides within the Windows Management Instrumentation component of the Windows operating system.\nRisk implications include the potential leakage of critical system memory contents, which could aid attackers in performing subsequent exploitation phases, such as bypassing memory randomization defenses. Successful exploitation requires an attacker to execute code locally on the target machine.\nThe attacker capabilities are constrained to information disclosure rather than remote code execution or direct privilege escalation. Exploitation requirements mandate that the adversary possesses prior authorization or local access to the operating system environment to interact directly with the vulnerable WMI component.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability is an out-of-bounds read flaw located in the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) subsystem. The root cause stems from improper bounds checking when processing internal data structures or handling memory buffers within the vulnerable component. Specifically, when WMI parses specific queries or manages object states, it fails to adequately validate the length of input data against the allocated buffer size.\nExploitation of this vulnerability occurs locally. An authenticated attacker leverages programmatic interfaces or local execution vectors to interact with WMI services. By supplying specially crafted inputs or querying malformed instrumentation data, the attacker triggers the out-of-bounds read condition.\nThe attack flow proceeds as follows: first, the local attacker establishes an interface with the WMI service using standard administrative or user-accessible APIs depending on the specific namespace permissions. Second, the attacker issues a malicious request designed to manipulate internal pointer offsets or read lengths. Third, the vulnerable WMI component processes the request, reading memory contents past the boundaries of the intended buffer. Finally, the extracted memory contents are returned or exposed through error handling mechanisms, query responses, or debugging channels, allowing the attacker to harvest sensitive information from kernel or user-mode memory spaces.\nAuthentication and privilege requirements dictate that the attacker must be authenticated and possess local access to the system. The network exposure of this vulnerability is strictly local, precluding remote exploitation vectors unless chained with a separate remote execution vulnerability. Post-exploitation impact is characterized by localized confidentiality breaches, where the payload behavior focuses entirely on reading unauthorized memory segments to harvest cryptographic material, session data, or system configuration secrets."
}