An out‑of‑bounds read in the Windows NTFS file system grants an authorized local user elevation of privileges, as detailed by Microsoft Security Response Center (CVE‑2026‑25175). The weakness arises from insufficient bounds checking when the system processes file allocation information, enabling the attacker to read beyond the intended memory region (CWE‑125). This flaw can be leveraged by a user who already has local access to execute code with elevated permissions, compromising the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected system.

The vulnerability affects Microsoft Windows 10 releases 1607, 1809, 21H2, and 22H2, Windows 11 releases 22H3 and 23H2, and Windows Server editions 2012, 2012 R2, 2016, 2019, 2022 and the 23H2 core issue, covering all 32‑bit, 64‑bit and ARM64 builds as enumerated in the associated CPE list (Microsoft vendor advisory).

The CVSS v3.1 score of 7.8 indicates a high severity, while the EPSS score of < 1 % points to a low exploitation probability in the wild (security scoring data). The vulnerability is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog. Because only users with local authorized access can trigger the read, the attack requires initial access to the target system and no publicly available exploit code is reported, reducing the current threat level but still demanding remediation.