CVE-2026-34346
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 · uneditedCleartext transmission of sensitive information in Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock allows an authorized attacker to disclose information locally.
In the news
Third-party coverage- Microsoft July 2026 Patch Tuesday fixes massive 570 flaws, 3 zero-days
- Microsoft CVE Summary - Bleeping Computer
Surfaced from public web coverage — external links open in a new tab.
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 confidenceA cleartext transmission vulnerability exists in the Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock that allows a locally authorized attacker to intercept sensitive information being transmitted between system components. The driver fails to encrypt sensitive data during local communication, enabling confidentiality breach.
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< 10.0.14393.9339< 10.0.17763.9020< 10.0.19044.7548< 10.0.19045.7548< 10.0.22631.7376< 10.0.26100.8875< 10.0.26200.8875< 10.0.28000.2269CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Locate the Afd.sys driver fileOpen File Explorer and navigate to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\afd.sys, or run 'dir C:\Windows\System32\drivers\afd.sys' in Command PromptAffected if The file does not exist (the driver is not present on the system)
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Obtain the Afd.sys file versionRight-click afd.sys, select Properties, then view the Details tab for the File Version. Alternatively, run 'powershell (Get-Item 'C:\Windows\System32\drivers\afd.sys').VersionInfo.FileVersion' in Command PromptAffected if The version displayed is lower than the fixed versions in the affected ranges (e.g., below 10.0.14393.9339 for Windows 10 1607, below 10.0.17763.9020 for Windows 10 1809, etc.)
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Confirm Windows version to match correct affected rangeRun 'winver' in Command Prompt or check System Properties to identify the exact Windows build (e.g., 1607, 1809, 21h2, 22h2, 23h2, 24h2, 25h2, or 26h1)Affected if The installed Windows build matches one of the affected versions AND the Afd.sys version is below the corresponding fixed version for that build
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Verify the driver is loaded and activeRun 'sc query afd' in Command Prompt or open Services app and check if the 'Afd' service exists and is runningAffected if The driver service is present and running on a vulnerable Windows version with an outdated driver file version
A user is affected if they are running any of the listed Windows versions AND the Afd.sys file version is below the specified cutoff for that Windows build, since the driver then transmits sensitive data without encryption during local communication.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped10.0.14393.933910.0.17763.902010.0.19044.7548
Apply Microsoft security updates for the Windows Ancillary Function Driver. As a defense-in-depth measure, restrict local administrative privileges and monitor for unusual access patterns to system driver communications.
Windows 10 1607 to build 10.0.14393.9339 or later | Windows 10 1809 to build 10.0.17763.9020 or later | Windows 10 21h2 to build 10.0.19044.7548 or later | Windows 10 22h2 to build 10.0.19045.7548 or later | Windows 11 23h2 to build 10.0.22631.7376 or later | Windows 11 24h2 to build 10.0.26100.8875
- Identify the current Windows version and build number by running 'winver' or 'systeminfo' in Command Prompt
- Determine which Windows 10 or 11 version and build is currently installed
- Upgrade to or install a Windows version that meets or exceeds the fixed build number for your release channel: For Windows 10 1607 upgrade to 10.0.14393.9339 or later; For Windows 10 1809 upgrade to 10.0.17763.9020 or later; For Windows 10 21h2 upgrade to 10.0.19044.7548 or later; For Windows 10 22h2 upgrade to 10.0.19045.7548 or later; For Windows 11 23h2 upgrade to 10.0.22631.7376 or later; For
- Apply the upgrade via Windows Update, or download the appropriate ISO from Microsoft's Volume Licensing Service Center or the Microsoft Update Catalog
- After upgrading, verify the new build number matches or exceeds the fixed version using 'winver'
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-34346 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-34346 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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