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Out-of-bounds ReadWeakness · CWE-125

CVE-2026-50453

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-07-14
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
66/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges 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
Out-of-bounds read in Windows USB Audio Class driver (usbaudio.sys) allows an unauthorized attacker to disclose information with a physical attack.

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

An out-of-bounds read vulnerability exists in the Windows USB Audio Class driver (usbaudio.sys) that allows an unauthenticated attacker with physical access to perform an information disclosure attack. The vulnerability stems from improper bounds checking when processing USB audio device data, potentially allowing reading beyond allocated memory buffers.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates for Windows once available. Until patch deployment, restrict physical access to sensitive systems and monitor for unauthorized physical access attempts. This is a kernel-mode driver vulnerability requiring a vendor patch for complete remediation.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

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
Physical
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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. Locate usbaudio.sys driver file
    Open File Explorer and navigate to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\usbaudio.sys. Right-click the file, select Properties, and note the File version on the Details tab.
    Affected if The file exists on the system, indicating the USB Audio Class driver is present.
  2. Check usbaudio.sys version
    In the same Properties window, record the File version string (for example, a version number like 10.0.x.x) and compare it against any Microsoft security advisory versions for CVE-2026-50453.
    Affected if The driver version is lower than the fixed version specified in Microsoft security documentation for this CVE.
  3. Verify USB audio functionality is active
    Open Device Manager, expand the 'Sound, video and game controllers' node, and check if any USB audio devices are listed or if 'USB Audio Class Driver' is shown as active.
    Affected if USB audio devices or the USB Audio driver is loaded and active, meaning the vulnerable code path could be reached.
  4. Confirm kernel driver is loaded
    Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run: driverquery /v | findstr usbaudio. Check the Status column for 'Running'.
    Affected if The usbaudio.sys driver is in a Running state, confirming the vulnerable driver is loaded in memory.
  5. Review Windows version context
    Run 'winver' or check System Properties to note the Windows version and build number. Cross-reference with Microsoft advisory to determine if that Windows release includes the affected usbaudio.sys driver.
    Affected if The system runs a Windows version that includes the vulnerable usbaudio.sys driver and has not received the specific security patch for this CVE.

The system is affected if usbaudio.sys is present, the driver version is below the patched version, USB audio devices are connected or the driver is loaded, and the corresponding Windows security update has not been applied.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply Microsoft security updates for Windows once available. Until patch deployment, restrict physical access to sensitive systems and monitor for unauthorized physical access attempts. This is a kernel-mode driver vulnerability requiring a vendor patch for complete remediation.

Have this fixed 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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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-2026-50453 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
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