dbcve.org
Windows 10 1607Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2026-50397

HIGH · 7.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-07-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.14393.9339 / 10.0.17763.9020 or later.
See remediation →
72/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click 5 weeks old

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
Use after free in Windows Kernel allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.

In the news

Third-party coverage
Trending covered by 1 outlet this week · latest 1mo ago

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 confidence

A use-after-free vulnerability in the Windows Kernel allows a locally authorized attacker to elevate privileges. The vulnerability involves improper memory management where memory is accessed after being freed, potentially allowing an attacker to execute arbitrary code in kernel context.

MitigationApply Microsoft security patches for Windows Kernel when available. Until then, restrict local user privileges and monitor for suspicious kernel-level activity.

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:< 10.0.14393.9339
Windows 10 1809Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.17763.9020
Windows 10 21h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19044.7548
Windows 10 22h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19045.7548
Windows 11 24h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.26100.8875
Windows 11 25h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.26200.8875
Windows 11 26h1Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.28000.2269< 10.0.28000.2525
Windows Server 2012Operating system
Affected:all versions= r2

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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Windows version and build number
    Run `winver` or `systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"` to retrieve the installed Windows version and build number
    Affected if The build number falls below the fixed versions: 14393.9339 (1607), 17763.9020 (1809), 19044.7548 (21h2), 19045.7548 (22h2), 26100.8875 (24h2), 26200.8875 (25h2), 28000.2269 or 28000.2525 (26h1)
  2. Confirm Windows 10 release
    Run `winver` to see the specific Windows 10 release name (such as 1607, 1809, 21h2, or 22h2)
    Affected if The release is 1607, 1809, 21h2, or 22h2 and its build number is below the corresponding threshold
  3. Confirm Windows 11 release
    Run `winver` to identify the Windows 11 feature update (24h2, 25h2, or 26h1)
    Affected if The release is 24h2, 25h2, or 26h1 and its build number is below the threshold for that release
  4. Check Windows Server 2012/R2 status
    Run `systeminfo` and examine the OS Name field for "Windows Server 2012"
    Affected if The system is running Windows Server 2012 or Windows Server 2012 R2 - all versions are affected per the advisory

A system is affected if it runs an unpatched Windows version with a build number below the thresholds listed, or if it runs any version of Windows Server 2012/R2.

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 10.0.14393.9339 / 10.0.17763.9020 / 10.0.19044.7548 or later
Fixed in 10.0.14393.933910.0.17763.902010.0.19044.7548
Interim mitigation

Apply Microsoft security patches for Windows Kernel when available. Until then, restrict local user privileges and monitor for suspicious kernel-level activity.

Recommended fix High confidence

Windows 10 1607 build 10.0.14393.9339+ | Windows 10 1809 build 10.0.17763.9020+ | Windows 10 21h2 build 10.0.19044.7548+ | Windows 10 22h2 build 10.0.19045.7548+ | Windows 11 24h2 build 10.0.26100.8875+ | Windows 11 25h2 build 10.0.26200.8875+ | Windows 11 26h1 build 10.0.28000.2525+ | Windows Serve

  1. Identify the Windows version currently installed using `winver` or `systeminfo`
  2. For Windows 10 1607 systems: Update to build 10.0.14393.9339 or later via Windows Update or WSUS
  3. For Windows 10 1809 systems: Update to build 10.0.17763.9020 or later via Windows Update or WSUS
  4. For Windows 10 21h2 systems: Update to build 10.0.19044.7548 or later via Windows Update or WSUS
  5. For Windows 10 22h2 systems: Update to build 10.0.19045.7548 or later via Windows Update or WSUS
  6. For Windows 11 24h2 systems: Update to build 10.0.26100.8875 or later via Windows Update or WSUS
  7. For Windows 11 25h2 systems: Update to build 10.0.26200.8875 or later via Windows Update or WSUS
  8. For Windows 11 26h1 systems: Update to build 10.0.28000.2525 or later via Windows Update or WSUS
Caveat Windows Server 2012/R2 requires paid Extended Security Updates (ESU) as the OS is end-of-life; kernel patches may occasionally cause driver compatibility issues

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 / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-50397 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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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-2026-50397 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