CVE-2026-50512
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 · uneditedMissing authentication for critical function in Microsoft PC Manager 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 confidenceMicrosoft PC Manager contains a missing authentication vulnerability in a critical function that allows a locally authorized attacker to escalate privileges to higher permissions. This is a local privilege escalation issue where the attacker already has some level of system access but can gain administrative or SYSTEM-level privileges through the unauthenticated critical function.
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< 3.21.6.0CVSS 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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Check if Microsoft PC Manager is installedLook for Microsoft PC Manager in the Windows Start Menu, check Program Files (x86) or Program Files folders for a 'Microsoft PC Manager' directory, or run 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -like "*PC Manager*"}' in PowerShellAffected if Microsoft PC Manager is found installed on the system
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Determine the installed versionRight-click the Microsoft PC Manager shortcut and select Properties, then check the Details tab for the Version field. Alternatively, check the version in the app's About or Settings page within the applicationAffected if The version number is lower than 3.21.6.0 (e.g., 3.21.5.0, 3.21.0.0, etc.)
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Check for the vulnerable service or componentOpen Services.msc and look for any Microsoft PC Manager-related services, or check the installation directory (typically C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft PC Manager\ or C:\Program Files\Microsoft PC Manager\) for executable files and their configurationsAffected if A Microsoft PC Manager service or executable exists and the version is below 3.21.6.0
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Verify the application's process behaviorOpen Task Manager or Process Explorer and check if Microsoft PC Manager processes (typically MSPCManager.exe or similar) are running with elevated privileges or spawning child processesAffected if The application is running and its version is below 3.21.6.0
If Microsoft PC Manager is installed with a version lower than 3.21.6.0, the system is vulnerable to local privilege escalation via the unauthenticated critical function.
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 · scoped3.21.6.0
Apply Microsoft PC Manager security updates when released. Until a patch is available, restrict local access to trusted users only and monitor for suspicious process activity related to Microsoft PC Manager.
3.21.6.0 or later
- Check current Microsoft PC Manager version via Help > About within the application
- Download Microsoft PC Manager version 3.21.6.0 or later from the official Microsoft website or Microsoft Store
- Run the downloaded installer and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the upgrade
- Restart the application if prompted after installation
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-50512 — 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-2026-50512 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