Description

Use after free in Windows Kernel allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "7.0",
  "pubDate": "2026-08-11T17:18:32.633Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-08-11T17:18:32.633Z",
  "executiveSummary": "This vulnerability is classified as a Use-After-Free (UAF) memory corruption flaw residing within the Windows Kernel. Successfully exploiting this security defect allows an authenticated local attacker to execute arbitrary code within kernel context, leading to a direct elevation of privileges to the highest privilege level, typically SYSTEM. The risk implications are severe, as compromise of the kernel grants the threat actor complete control over the affected operating system, enabling them to bypass security controls, install unauthorized software, manipulate sensitive data, or create persistent administrative access. The attack vector is local, requiring the threat actor to have prior local access to the target system and authorization to execute code. Exploitation prerequisites mandate that the attacker can interact with the vulnerable kernel component, typically through specially crafted user-mode applications designed to trigger improper memory management operations. No specific network exposure or remote attack vectors are indicated, classifying this strictly as a local privilege escalation vector. Remediation relies on applying vendor-supplied security updates designed to correct object lifecycle management within the affected kernel subsystem.",
  "technicalDetails": "The root cause of the vulnerability stems from a use-after-free condition within the memory management architecture of the Windows Kernel. A use-after-free vulnerability occurs when a program continues to use a pointer after the memory address it references has been freed or deallocated. In the context of the Windows Kernel, this typically manifests when kernel-mode objects—such as driver structures, synchronization primitives, or internal system handles—are prematurely deallocated due to a race condition, improper reference counting, or flawed error-handling logic, while dangling pointers to these objects still exist within other execution contexts or data structures.\nExploitation of this vulnerability requires the attacker to execute code locally on the target system. The attack flow generally begins with the attacker instigating specific interactions with the Windows Kernel, often by interfacing with vulnerable device drivers, system services, or native API functions exposed to user-mode. By carefully manipulating system state, the attacker forces the kernel to allocate a specific memory object, trigger its premature deallocation while retaining a reference, and subsequently allocate a replacement object controlled by the attacker into the newly freed memory heap slot (a technique commonly known as heap feng shui or pool grooming).\nOnce the attacker successfully achieves heap reclamation of the freed memory location with controlled data, any subsequent access to the dangling pointer by the kernel results in the processing of attacker-supplied data as if it were the original kernel object. This condition allows the attacker to hijack the control flow, corrupt critical kernel function pointers, or manipulate internal security descriptors. Post-exploitation impact includes the execution of arbitrary shellcode in ring 0, effectively bypassing standard operating system defenses and achieving full local privilege escalation."
}