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Windows 11 23h2Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2026-26179

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-04-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.22631.6936 / 10.0.25398.2274 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 enables a locally authorized attacker to elevate privileges to higher integrity levels. The vulnerability stems from improper memory management during kernel operations, potentially allowing an attacker to corrupt memory and execute arbitrary code in kernel context.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates for Windows Kernel once released; prioritize patching endpoint systems given the local privilege escalation vector. Until patch availability, restrict local access to trusted users only.

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 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 2022 23h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.25398.2274
Windows Server 2025Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.26100.32690

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 version
    Run 'winver' from command prompt or execute 'systeminfo | findstr /C:"Build"' to display the OS build number
    Affected if The displayed build number is lower than the fixed version for your Windows edition (see version-specific thresholds)
  2. Identify exact Windows edition
    Run 'winver' or check System Properties to determine if you are running Windows 11 23h2, 24h2, 25h2, 26h1, Windows Server 2022 23h2, or Windows Server 2025
    Affected if The system runs any of the affected editions listed in the CVE
  3. Compare build to affected range for your edition
    Reference the CVE-affected version list: Windows 11 23h2 < 10.0.22631.6936, 24h2 < 10.0.26100.8246, 25h2 < 10.0.26200.8246, 26h1 < 10.0.28000.1836, Server 2022 23h2 < 10.0.25398.2274, Server 2025 < 10.0.26100.32690
    Affected if Your current build number falls below the corresponding threshold for your Windows edition

The system is affected if it runs any of the listed Windows editions with a build number lower than the specified threshold for that edition.

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 10.0.22631.6936 / 10.0.25398.2274 / 10.0.26100.8246 or later
Fixed in 10.0.22631.693610.0.25398.227410.0.26100.8246
Interim mitigation

Apply Microsoft security updates for Windows Kernel once released; prioritize patching endpoint systems given the local privilege escalation vector. Until patch availability, restrict local access to trusted users only.

Recommended fix High confidence

Windows 11 23h2: build 10.0.22631.6936+ | Windows 11 24h2: build 10.0.26100.8246+ | Windows 11 25h2: build 10.0.26200.8246+ | Windows 11 26h1: build 10.0.28000.1836+ | Windows Server 2022 23h2: build 10.0.25398.2274+ | Windows Server 2025: build 10.0.26100.32690+

  1. Identify current Windows build version by running 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"'
  2. Navigate to Windows Update Settings > Check for updates, or download the specific security update from the Microsoft Update Catalog
  3. For Windows 11 23h2: Install update reaching build 10.0.22631.6936 or later
  4. For Windows 11 24h2: Install update reaching build 10.0.26100.8246 or later
  5. For Windows 11 25h2: Install update reaching build 10.0.26200.8246 or later
  6. For Windows 11 26h1: Install update reaching build 10.0.28000.1836 or later
  7. For Windows Server 2022 23h2: Install update reaching build 10.0.25398.2274 or later
  8. For Windows Server 2025: Install update reaching build 10.0.26100.32690 or later
Caveat Standard Windows cumulative update; may require restart and standard compatibility testing for line-of-business applications

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

Fix this in Windows 11 23h2 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
40.0 hours of engineering $7,000
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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-2026-26179 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