Description
Use after free in Windows Media allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
Published: 2026-07-14
Score: 7 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 Media component that lets an authorized local user gain higher privileges on the affected Windows system. The impact is the elevation of privileges, which could enable the user to perform actions normally restricted to administrators.

Affected Systems

Affected Windows operating systems include Windows 10 versions 1607, 1809, 21H2, and 22H2; Windows 11 versions 24H2, 25H2, and 26H1; and Windows Server 2016, 2019, 2022, and 2025, with both standard installations and Server Core variants.

Risk and Exploitability

The CVSS score of 7 indicates high severity, and the EPSS score of less than 1% reflects a very low probability of exploitation in the real world. The vulnerability is not listed in CISA’s KEV catalog. It is exploitable only by an authorized local user who can trigger the Windows Media component, making the attack vector local and contingent on the user’s ability to run media files.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on July 31, 2026 at 08:17 UTC.

Remediation

No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.

OpenCVE Recommended Actions

  • Apply the Microsoft security update for Windows Media available through the Microsoft Security Response Center’s update guide to eliminate the use‑after‑free flaw.
  • Restrict access to Windows Media Player or other media components via Group Policy, allowing only administrators to run them until the update is deployed.
  • Enforce least‑privilege policies across the environment, ensuring that non‑administrator accounts do not have permission to launch or manipulate media applications that rely on the vulnerable component.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on July 31, 2026 at 08:17 UTC.

Tracking

Sign in to view the affected projects.

Advisories

No advisories yet.

History

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 20:30:00 +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 Media allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
Title Windows Media 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, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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: 2026-08-03T22:55:11.520Z

Reserved: 2026-06-04T18:48:26.815Z

Link: CVE-2026-50358

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-07-14T19:31:25.672Z

cve-icon NVD

No data.

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

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

Weaknesses