CVE-2026-47648
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 · uneditedUntrusted search path in Windows Storage 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 confidenceThis is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in Windows Storage where the application uses an untrusted search path to load DLLs or executables. An authorized attacker with local access can place malicious DLLs in directories within the search path, causing Windows Storage to load and execute them with elevated privileges.
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< 10.0.14393.9234< 10.0.17763.8880< 10.0.19044.7417< 10.0.19045.7417< 10.0.22631.7219< 10.0.26100.8655< 10.0.26200.8655< 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
- High
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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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Check Windows build versionOpen Command Prompt or PowerShell and run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Version"' to obtain the full build number.Affected if The build number is lower than the affected versions listed (10.0.14393.9234 for Win10 1607, 10.0.17763.8880 for Win10 1809, 10.0.19044.7417 for Win10 21h2, 10.0.19045.7417 for Win10 22h2, 10.0.22631.7219 for Win11 23h2, 10.0.26100.8655 for Win11 24h2, 10.0.26200.8655 for Win11 25h2, or 10.0.28000.2
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Identify Windows Storage componentCheck if the Windows Storage service is present and running. In PowerShell, run 'Get-Service -Name "Storage" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue' or check for Storage-related services via 'services.msc'.Affected if The Storage service exists on the system (standard on all listed Windows versions).
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Inspect process for untrusted search path usageUse Process Explorer or Process Monitor from Sysinternals to monitor the Windows Storage-related processes (such as SearchIndexer, SearchHost, or Storage-related services) for DLL load events that do not use fully qualified paths. Look for LoadImage events where the path is relative rather than absolute.Affected if The monitored processes load DLLs from relative paths or directories in the user-controlled search path rather than fully qualified paths.
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Audit directories in the storage search pathExamine directories that are typically searched by Windows Storage processes. Check common writable locations such as the application directory, system TEMP folders, and user profile directories for unexpected DLL or executable files that may have been planted. Use 'dir /s /b *.dll' in suspected directories to enumerate DLLs.Affected if Suspicious or unexpected DLLs or executables are present in directories that precede system directories in the search order.
A system is affected if it runs a Windows version with a build number lower than the patched versions AND has the Windows Storage component active, which loads executables or DLLs without using fully qualified paths.
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 · scoped10.0.14393.923410.0.17763.888010.0.19044.7417
Apply Microsoft security updates for Windows Storage when available. Additionally, restrict write permissions on directories in the Windows search path to prevent unauthorized users from placing malicious DLLs.
Update to version >= 10.0.14393.9234 (Win10 1607), >= 10.0.17763.8880 (Win10 1809), >= 10.0.19044.7417 (Win10 21h2), >= 10.0.19045.7417 (Win10 22h2), >= 10.0.22631.7219 (Win11 23h2), >= 10.0.26100.8655 (Win11 24h2), >= 10.0.26200.8655 (Win11 25h2), or >= 10.0.28000.2269 (Win11 26h1)
- Open Settings app on the Windows system
- Navigate to Windows Update (Update & Security > Windows Update)
- Click 'Check for updates' to scan for available updates
- Install all available updates, particularly the security update containing the fix for this vulnerability
- Restart the system if prompted to complete the installation
- Verify the installed version matches or exceeds the fixed version for your Windows branch (e.g., for Windows 10 22h2, verify version is 10.0.19045.7417 or later)
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,832.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-47648 — 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-2026-47648 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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