CVE-2026-20822
Published: 13 January 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-20822 is a high-severity Use After Free (CWE-416) vulnerability in Microsoft Windows 10 1607. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 7.6th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 SI-16 (Memory Protection) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation).
Deeper analysis
CVE-2026-20822 is a use-after-free vulnerability (CWE-416) in the Microsoft Graphics Component. Published on 2026-01-13, it carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H). The issue enables an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally within affected Microsoft software.
A local attacker with low privileges (PR:L) can exploit this vulnerability after gaining initial authorized access to the system. Exploitation requires high attack complexity (AC:H) but no user interaction (UI:N). Successful exploitation results in high impacts to confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:H/I:H/A:H) within an elevated scope (S:C), allowing the attacker to escalate to higher privileges.
The Microsoft Security Response Center provides details on this vulnerability, including mitigation guidance, at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-20822.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-2191
Vulnerability details
Use after free in Microsoft Graphics Component allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Direct local privilege escalation via exploitation of use-after-free vulnerability in Microsoft Graphics Component.
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Requires timely remediation of the use-after-free flaw in Microsoft Graphics Component via vendor patches to prevent local privilege escalation.
Implements memory safeguards such as ASLR and DEP that directly mitigate use-after-free exploits by restricting unauthorized code execution.
Enforces least privilege to limit the access and impact of low-privilege local attackers attempting to exploit the vulnerability for escalation.