CVE-2026-3796
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 · uneditedA weakness has been identified in Qi-ANXIN QAX Virus Removal up to 2025-10-22. The affected element is the function ZwTerminateProcess in the library QKSecureIO_Imp.sys of the component Mini Filter Driver. Executing a manipulation can lead to improper access controls. The attack is restricted to local execution. The exploit has been made available to the public and could be used for attacks. The vendor was contacted early about this disclosure but did not respond in any way.
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 local privilege escalation vulnerability exists in Qi-ANXIN QAX Virus Removal's Mini Filter Driver (QKSecureIO_Imp.sys). The ZwTerminateProcess function has improper access controls, allowing a local attacker to potentially terminate protected security processes or escalate privileges. A public exploit is available.
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<= 2025-10-22CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify QAX product installationCheck for Qianxin Qax Internet Control Gateway or QAX security product installation via Programs and Features, installed programs list, or by searching for QAX-related directories in Program Files.Affected if The QAX product is installed on the system.
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Identify the vulnerable driverCheck if QKSecureIO_Imp.sys is present on the system. Search for this file in system driver directories (C:\Windows\System32\drivers\) or within the QAX product installation directory.Affected if The QKSecureIO_Imp.sys driver file exists on the system.
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Check driver version and dateRight-click on QKSecureIO_Imp.sys and view Properties, or use a command like 'powershell (Get-Item "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\QKSecureIO_Imp.sys").VersionInfo' to retrieve file version and creation timestamp.Affected if The driver file was created or modified on or before 2025-10-22.
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Verify driver loaded statusOpen an elevated command prompt and run 'sc query QKSecureIO' or check via Autoruns/Process Explorer to see if the driver is currently loaded in memory.Affected if The QKSecureIO_Imp.sys driver is currently loaded as a running service or kernel driver.
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Monitor for process termination attemptsEnable Windows Event Logging for security events (Event ID 4656, 4658) or use Sysmon to monitor for unexpected termination of security-related processes (antivirus, EDR, firewall services).Affected if There are logs or evidence of security processes being terminated unexpectedly, especially by unknown or low-privilege processes.
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Check for privilege escalation indicatorsReview system logs, Windows Security event logs, and any EDR alerts for new privileged accounts, unusual service creations, or modifications to security-critical registry keys.Affected if There are indicators of privilege escalation such as new administrator accounts, modified service configurations, or unexpected changes to security settings.
A user is affected if the Qianxin Qax Internet Control Gateway (or related QAX product) is installed with the QKSecureIO_Imp.sys driver dated on or before 2025-10-22, as the improper access controls in that driver version allow local privilege escalation.
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.
From vendor dataSince the vendor did not respond and no patch is available, organizations should evaluate disabling or removing the affected QAX product until a fix is released, or implement additional endpoint detection and monitoring for exploitation attempts.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-3796 — 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-2026-3796 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
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