Description
Time-of-check time-of-use (toctou) race condition in Windows HTTP.sys allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
Published: 2026-02-10
Score: 7.8 High
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
Impact: Privilege Escalation
Action: Apply Patch
AI Analysis

Impact

A race condition in Windows HTTP.sys, described as a time‑of‑check time‑of‑use flaw, allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally. The flaw arises from a timing discrepancy in handling HTTP requests that can be exploited to increase user privileges. It is classified as CWE‑367. Based on the description, it is inferred that the attacker must have local access and may be able to raise privileges beyond their original user level.

Affected Systems

Microsoft Windows 10 versions 1809, 21H2, and 22H2; Microsoft Windows 11 versions 23H2, 24H2, 25H2, 26H1, 22H3, and 26H1; as well as Windows Server 2019 (standard and core), Windows Server 2022 (standard, core, and 23H2 edition), and Windows Server 2025 (standard and core).

Risk and Exploitability

The CVSS score of 7.8 indicates a high severity, yet the extremely low EPSS (< 1%) and absence from the KEV list suggest limited exploitation. It is inferred that local users can trigger the race condition to attempt privilege escalation. Systems allowing unrestricted local logins or with large user bases should prioritize patching to mitigate potential risk.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on April 15, 2026 at 17:21 UTC.

Remediation

No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.

OpenCVE Recommended Actions

  • Install the Microsoft security update for CVE‑2026‑21240 available from the Microsoft Update Catalog or Windows Update.
  • Ensure that all affected Windows 10, 11, and Windows Server 2019/2022/2025 installations receive the latest cumulative update containing the fix.
  • As a temporary measure, restrict local user accounts from having unnecessary elevated privileges or enforce least‑privilege policies to reduce impact if a patch cannot be applied immediately.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on April 15, 2026 at 17:21 UTC.

Tracking

Sign in to view the affected projects.

Advisories

No advisories yet.

History

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 17:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'total'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Thu, 12 Feb 2026 12:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Microsoft windows 11 22h3
Microsoft windows 11 26h1
Microsoft windows Server 2019 (server Core Installation)
Microsoft windows Server 2022, 23h2 Edition (server Core Installation)
Microsoft windows Server 2025 (server Core Installation)
Vendors & Products Microsoft windows 11 22h3
Microsoft windows 11 26h1
Microsoft windows Server 2019 (server Core Installation)
Microsoft windows Server 2022, 23h2 Edition (server Core Installation)
Microsoft windows Server 2025 (server Core Installation)

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 21:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Microsoft windows 10 21h2
Microsoft windows 10 22h2
Microsoft windows 11 23h2
Microsoft windows 11 24h2
Microsoft windows 11 25h2
Microsoft windows Server 2022 23h2
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_1809:*:*:*:*:*:*:x64:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_21h2:*:*:*:*:*:*:arm64:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_21h2:*:*:*:*:*:*:x64:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_21h2:*:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_22h2:*:*:*:*:*:*:arm64:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_22h2:*:*:*:*:*:*:x64:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_22h2:*:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_11_23h2:*:*:*:*:*:*:arm64:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_11_23h2:*:*:*:*:*:*:x64:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_11_24h2:*:*:*:*:*:*:arm64:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_11_24h2:*:*:*:*:*:*:x64:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_11_25h2:*:*:*:*:*:*:arm64:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_11_25h2:*:*:*:*:*:*:x64:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2022_23h2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Microsoft windows 10 21h2
Microsoft windows 10 22h2
Microsoft windows 11 23h2
Microsoft windows 11 24h2
Microsoft windows 11 25h2
Microsoft windows Server 2022 23h2

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 18:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description Time-of-check time-of-use (toctou) race condition in Windows HTTP.sys allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
Title Windows HTTP.sys Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
First Time appeared Microsoft
Microsoft windows 10 1809
Microsoft windows 10 21h2
Microsoft windows 10 22h2
Microsoft windows 11 23h2
Microsoft windows 11 24h2
Microsoft windows 11 25h2
Microsoft windows 11 26h1
Microsoft windows Server 2019
Microsoft windows Server 2022
Microsoft windows Server 2025
Microsoft windows Server 23h2
Weaknesses CWE-367
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_1809:*:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_21H2:*:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_22H2:*:*:*:*:*:*:x64:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_11_23H2:*:*:*:*:*:*:arm64:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_11_23H2:*:*:*:*:*:*:x64:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_11_24H2:*:*:*:*:*:*:arm64:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_11_25H2:*:*:*:*:*:*:arm64:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_11_26H1:*:*:*:*:*:*:arm64:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_11_26H1:*:*:*:*:*:*:x64:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2019:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2022:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2025:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_23h2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Microsoft
Microsoft windows 10 1809
Microsoft windows 10 21h2
Microsoft windows 10 22h2
Microsoft windows 11 23h2
Microsoft windows 11 24h2
Microsoft windows 11 25h2
Microsoft windows 11 26h1
Microsoft windows Server 2019
Microsoft windows Server 2022
Microsoft windows Server 2025
Microsoft windows Server 23h2
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C'}


Subscriptions

Microsoft Windows 10 1809 Windows 10 21h2 Windows 10 21h2 Windows 10 22h2 Windows 10 22h2 Windows 11 22h3 Windows 11 23h2 Windows 11 23h2 Windows 11 24h2 Windows 11 24h2 Windows 11 25h2 Windows 11 25h2 Windows 11 26h1 Windows 11 26h1 Windows Server 2019 Windows Server 2019 (server Core Installation) Windows Server 2022 Windows Server 2022, 23h2 Edition (server Core Installation) Windows Server 2022 23h2 Windows Server 2025 Windows Server 2025 (server Core Installation) Windows Server 23h2
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: microsoft

Published:

Updated: 2026-04-10T13:21:30.488Z

Reserved: 2025-12-11T21:02:05.735Z

Link: CVE-2026-21240

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-02-25T15:42:44.980Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Analyzed

Published: 2026-02-10T18:16:24.963

Modified: 2026-02-11T20:59:15.043

Link: CVE-2026-21240

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-04-15T17:45:10Z

Weaknesses