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MSRC compact vulnerability detail

CVE-2026-26166 · Windows Shell Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Double free in Windows Shell allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.

Severity
Important
Impact
Elevation of Privilege
CVSS
7.0 base · 6.1 temporal
Release
2026-04-14
Signals
Windows Shell Elevation of Privilege Exploited: No Publicly disclosed: No Exploitability: Exploitation Less Likely
CWE
CWE-415: Double Free
Patch Diff
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Description
Double free in Windows Shell allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
FAQ / Articles
Windows Shell Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
Double free in Windows Shell allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
FAQ
According to the CVSS metric, the attack complexity is high (AC:H). What does that mean for this vulnerability? Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires an attacker to win a race condition.
FAQ
What privileges could be gained by an attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability? An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain administrator privileges.