dbcve.org
Windows 10 1607Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2026-26163

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-04-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.14393.9060 / 10.0.17763.8644 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
Double free in Windows Kernel 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

A double-free vulnerability in the Windows Kernel allows a locally authenticated attacker to corrupt memory through repeated freeing of the same memory pointer, potentially achieving privilege escalation to elevated (SYSTEM) privileges.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates for this vulnerability when released; restrict local access to trusted administrators and monitor for indicators of local privilege escalation attempts.

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 1607Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.14393.9060
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

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. Check Windows build number
    Open Command Prompt and run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /C:"Build"' to display the exact Windows build number
    Affected if The displayed build number is lower than the threshold for your Windows version from the affected versions list
  2. Identify Windows version family
    Run 'winver' or check System Properties to determine if you are on Windows 10 1607, 1809, 21h2, 22h2, or Windows 11 23h2, 24h2, 25h2, 26h1
    Affected if Your Windows version matches any of the affected versions listed and the build number is below the patched threshold for that version
  3. Confirm local authenticated access exists
    This kernel vulnerability can be exploited by any locally authenticated user; verify with 'whoami' to see current logged-on user context
    Affected if Any non-privileged local user account exists on the system running an affected Windows version

Your system is affected if it runs any of the listed Windows 10 or Windows 11 versions with a build number below the specified patched threshold.

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 10.0.14393.9060 / 10.0.17763.8644 / 10.0.19044.7184 or later
Fixed in 10.0.14393.906010.0.17763.864410.0.19044.7184
Interim mitigation

Apply Microsoft security updates for this vulnerability when released; restrict local access to trusted administrators and monitor for indicators of local privilege escalation attempts.

Recommended fix High confidence

Windows 10 22h2 (10.0.19045.7184+), Windows 11 24h2 (10.0.26100.8246+), Windows 11 25h2 (10.0.26200.8246+), or Windows 11 26h1 (10.0.28000.1836+)

  1. Identify the current Windows version by running 'winver' or 'systeminfo' in Command Prompt
  2. Determine which affected version category applies to your system (Windows 10 1607, 1809, 21h2, 22h2, or Windows 11 23h2, 24h2, 25h2, 26h1)
  3. Open Windows Update: Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update
  4. Click 'Check for updates' to download and install the latest cumulative update
  5. Verify the installation completed successfully by checking that the installed version meets or exceeds the fixed version for your build: Windows 10 1607: 10.0.14393.9060 | 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: 1
  6. Restart the system if prompted to complete the update installation
Caveat Standard Windows cumulative update risks; test in staging if mission-critical; some older Windows 10 versions (1607, 1809, 21h2) may require extended support enrollment for patches

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

Fix this in Windows 10 1607 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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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-2026-26163 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