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Windows 10 1809Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2026-26161

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-04-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.17763.8644 / 10.0.19044.7184 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Untrusted pointer dereference in Windows Sensor Data Service allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

This is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in the Windows Sensor Data Service. An untrusted pointer dereference flaw allows an authorized (authenticated local) attacker to elevate their privileges to a higher level, likely SYSTEM or administrator, by exploiting the vulnerable service.

MitigationApply the relevant Microsoft security update for CVE-2026-26161 through Windows Update or manual patch deployment. Verify the Sensor Data Service operates normally after patching.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Windows 10 1809Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.17763.8644
Windows 10 21h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19044.7184
Windows 10 22h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19045.7184
Windows 11 23h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.22631.6936
Windows 11 24h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.26100.8246
Windows 11 25h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.26200.8246
Windows 11 26h1Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.28000.1836
Windows Server 2019Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.17763.8644

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Windows version and build number
    Open Command Prompt or PowerShell and run: winver or systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Version" /C:"Build"
    Affected if The installed build number is less than the threshold for your Windows version (e.g., < 10.0.17763.8644 for Windows 10 1809/Server 2019, < 10.0.19044.7184 for Windows 10 21h2, < 10.0.19045.7184 for Windows 10 22h2, < 10.0.22631.6936 for Windows 11 23h2, < 10.0.26100.8246 for Windows 11 24h2, < 10.0.
  2. Confirm Sensor Data Service presence
    Open Services console (services.msc) and look for "Sensor Data Service" or run: sc query sensordsvc in Command Prompt
    Affected if The Sensor Data Service (sensordsvc) exists on the system - this is the vulnerable component
  3. Check if Sensor Data Service is running
    Run: sc query sensordsvc or look at the Status column in services.msc for Sensor Data Service
    Affected if The service is installed and available for exploitation (regardless of running state, presence indicates the attack surface exists)

You are affected if your Windows version/build is below the threshold for your specific Windows release and the Sensor Data Service is present on your system.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 10.0.17763.8644 / 10.0.19044.7184 / 10.0.19045.7184 or later
Fixed in 10.0.17763.864410.0.19044.718410.0.19045.7184
Interim mitigation

Apply the relevant Microsoft security update for CVE-2026-26161 through Windows Update or manual patch deployment. Verify the Sensor Data Service operates normally after patching.

Recommended fix High confidence

Windows 10 1809: 10.0.17763.8644 | Windows 10 21h2: 10.0.19044.7184 | Windows 10 22h2: 10.0.19045.7184 | Windows 11 23h2: 10.0.22631.6936 | Windows 11 24h2: 10.0.26100.8246 | Windows 11 25h2: 10.0.26200.8246 | Windows 11 26h1: 10.0.28000.1836 | Windows Server 2019: 10.0.17763.8644

  1. Open Windows Settings and navigate to Windows Update
  2. Click 'Check for updates' to download and install the latest security updates
  3. Ensure the update includes the patch for CVE-2026-26161
  4. Restart the system after the update is installed
  5. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds the fixed build number for your Windows version
Caveat Standard Windows update applies; ensure backup of critical data before updating as with any system update

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Windows 10 1809 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,950
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,120.

Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-26161 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data