CVE-2026-57973
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 · uneditedTime-of-check time-of-use (toctou) race condition in Windows Subsystem for Linux allows an authorized attacker to perform tampering locally.
In the news
Third-party coverage- Microsoft July 2026 Patch Tuesday fixes massive 570 flaws, 3 zero-days
- Microsoft CVE Summary - Bleeping Computer
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 confidenceA time-of-check time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition in Windows Subsystem for Linux allows a local authorized attacker to manipulate file system or resource states between the time a security check is performed and when the result is acted upon, enabling tampering of system resources.
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
- Local
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
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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Verify WSL is installed on the systemRun 'wsl --list --verbose' or check for WSL components in Windows Features (Programs and Features > Turn Windows features on or off > Windows Subsystem for Linux)Affected if WSL is listed as installed or enabled
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Check the installed WSL versionRun 'wsl --version' or 'wsl.exe --version' to obtain the WSL version numberAffected if The installed version has not received the security patch for this CVE (compare against Microsoft's security advisory when available)
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Identify running WSL distributionsRun 'wsl --list --running' to see active WSL instancesAffected if Any WSL distributions are currently running - the TOCTOU race condition applies when WSL is actively operating on files
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Inspect WSL process activityUse Task Manager or 'Get-Process' in PowerShell to enumerate wsl.exe and wslhost.exe processes for unexpected behavior or unauthorized file accessAffected if Suspicious file operations or unexpected processes are observed involving WSL components
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Review file system access patterns in WSLEnable Windows Event Log auditing for file system events involving %LOCALAPPDATA%\lxss and \wsl$ paths, then inspect Security event logs for rapid file create/modify/delete sequences indicative of TOCTOU exploitationAffected if Audit logs show rapid file state changes occurring between security check and use operations on WSL-managed paths
A system is potentially affected if WSL is installed and running an unpatched version, as a local authorized user could exploit the TOCTOU race condition to tamper with system resources during WSL file operations.
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.
From vendor dataMonitor for Microsoft security updates addressing this WSL vulnerability and apply patches promptly; restrict local user access to WSL components and minimize the attack surface until a patch is available.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-57973 — 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-2026-57973 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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