Description
Use after free in Windows Application Model allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
Published: 2026-07-14
Score: 7.8 High
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
AI Analysis

Impact

The vulnerability is a use-after-free flaw in the Windows Application Model Core API that can be triggered by an authorized user with local access. Exploitation allows the attacker to execute code with higher privileges than the current account, enabling compromise of system integrity and potentially the entire machine. This type of flaw is identified as CWE-416.

Affected Systems

Microsoft Windows 10 1607, 1809, 21H2, and 22H2; Microsoft Windows 11 24H2, 25H2, and 26H1; Microsoft Windows Server 2016, 2019, 2022, and 2025 – both standard and Server Core installations. All affected editions run the Windows Application Model component that contains the vulnerable code.

Risk and Exploitability

The CVSS base score of 7.8 classifies this as a high‑severity, local privilege escalation. The EPSS score of less than 1% indicates a very low probability of exploitation in the wild at the time of analysis, and the vulnerability is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog. An attacker would need to already have logged on or have some level of local access; from there they could trigger the use‑after‑free and elevate privileges. No public exploit is known, so the risk in the current environment is moderate until the patch is applied.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on July 31, 2026 at 08:29 UTC.

Remediation

No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.

OpenCVE Recommended Actions

  • Apply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2026-50331 as distributed via the Microsoft Update Catalog.
  • Limit the use of the Windows Application Model by disabling unused features or applying AppLocker rules to permit only trusted applications.
  • Enforce least‑privilege and restrict local administrative rights to reduce the potential impact of a local attacker.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on July 31, 2026 at 08:29 UTC.

Tracking

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Advisories

No advisories yet.

History

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 15:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

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


Tue, 14 Jul 2026 17:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description Use after free in Windows Application Model allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
Title Windows Application Model Core API Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
First Time appeared Microsoft
Microsoft windows 10 1607
Microsoft windows 10 1809
Microsoft windows 10 21h2
Microsoft windows 10 22h2
Microsoft windows 11 24h2
Microsoft windows 11 25h2
Microsoft windows 11 26h1
Microsoft windows Server 2016
Microsoft windows Server 2019
Microsoft windows Server 2022
Microsoft windows Server 2025
Weaknesses CWE-416
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_1607:*:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
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_24H2:*:*:*:*:*:*:arm64:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_11_25H2:*:*:*:*:*:*:arm64:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_11_26H1:*:*:*:*:*:*:x64:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2016:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2019:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2022:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2025:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Microsoft
Microsoft windows 10 1607
Microsoft windows 10 1809
Microsoft windows 10 21h2
Microsoft windows 10 22h2
Microsoft windows 11 24h2
Microsoft windows 11 25h2
Microsoft windows 11 26h1
Microsoft windows Server 2016
Microsoft windows Server 2019
Microsoft windows Server 2022
Microsoft windows Server 2025
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 1607 Windows 10 1809 Windows 10 21h2 Windows 10 22h2 Windows 11 24h2 Windows 11 25h2 Windows 11 26h1 Windows Server 2016 Windows Server 2019 Windows Server 2022 Windows Server 2025
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: microsoft

Published:

Updated: 2026-08-03T22:54:54.935Z

Reserved: 2026-06-04T18:15:10.952Z

Link: CVE-2026-50331

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-07-15T14:34:43.101Z

cve-icon NVD

No data.

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-07-31T08:30:03Z

Weaknesses