Windows 11 24h2Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2026-50676

HIGH · 7.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-07-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.26100.8875 / 10.0.26200.8875 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
Concurrent execution using shared resource with improper synchronization ('race condition') in Windows Media 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

This is a race condition vulnerability in Windows Media where improper synchronization of shared resources allows an authenticated local attacker to elevate privileges. The vulnerability stems from concurrent access to resources without proper locking mechanisms.

MitigationApply the relevant Microsoft security update for Windows Media to address the race condition. Ensure local users have least privilege access and monitor for indicators of local privilege escalation attempts.

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 11 24h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.26100.8875
Windows 11 25h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.26200.8875
Windows 11 26h1Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.28000.2525

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. Check Windows 11 build version
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Version"' to obtain the build number
    Affected if Build number is less than 10.0.26100.8875 for 24h2, less than 10.0.26200.8875 for 25h2, or less than 10.0.28000.2525 for 26h1
  2. Confirm Windows 11 feature update version
    Run 'winver' to see the specific feature update (24h2, 25h2, or 26h1) and verify the full build number matches the affected range
    Affected if Running an affected feature update version with a build number below the corresponding threshold
  3. Verify Windows Media component presence
    Check for Windows Media components via 'Get-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online | Where-Object {$_.FeatureName -like "*Media*"}' or inspect installed programs for Windows Media Player or related media components
    Affected if Windows Media Player or related media features are installed and enabled on the system

A system is affected if it runs Windows 11 24h2, 25h2, or 26h1 with a build number below the fixed version and has Windows Media components installed, allowing an authenticated local user to potentially exploit the race condition for privilege escalation.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 10.0.26100.8875 / 10.0.26200.8875 / 10.0.28000.2525 or later
Fixed in 10.0.26100.887510.0.26200.887510.0.28000.2525
Interim mitigation

Apply the relevant Microsoft security update for Windows Media to address the race condition. Ensure local users have least privilege access and monitor for indicators of local privilege escalation attempts.

Fix this in Windows 11 24h2 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,770
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,832.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-50676 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-50676 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