The vulnerability is a use‑after‑free flaw in the Windows kernel that grants an authorized local attacker the ability to execute code with system privileges. An attacker who can gain local access to the affected operating system can take advantage of the faulty memory handling to overwrite critical data structures and ultimately obtain SYSTEM rights, compromising the integrity of the system as a whole.

Microsoft Windows 10 versions 1607, 1809, 21H2, and 22H2; Microsoft Windows 11 versions 23H2, 24H2, 25H2, and 26H1; Microsoft Windows Server 2016, Server 2019, Server 2022, and Server 2025, including their Server Core installations. All affected builds, regardless of architecture (x86, x64, or ARM64), are vulnerable.

The CVSS score of 7.8 classifies this issue as high severity, while the lack of EPSS data means the probability of exploitation is currently unknown. The flaw is listed as a local privilege escalation and is not part of the CISA KEV catalog. An attacker with local access can directly exploit the use‑after‑free condition to gain SYSTEM privileges, and no known mitigations exist beyond applying the official update.