CVE-2026-24293
Published: 10 March 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-24293 is a high-severity NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476) vulnerability in Microsoft Windows 10 21H2. 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 8.7th 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).
Threat & Defense at a Glance
Threat & Defense Details
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5)AI
Requires timely remediation of the specific null pointer dereference flaw in the Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock via patching as guided by MSRC.
Implements memory protections such as DEP and ASLR to prevent exploitation of null pointer dereferences for privilege escalation in kernel drivers.
Enforces least privilege to limit the scope and impact of local privilege escalation resulting from the vulnerability.
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Null pointer dereference in kernel driver directly enables local privilege escalation from low-privileged user context.
NVD Description
Null pointer dereference in Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
Deeper analysisAI
CVE-2026-24293 is a null pointer dereference vulnerability (CWE-476) in the Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock. This flaw affects Windows systems and was published on 2026-03-10T18:18:20.317, with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).
A local attacker with low privileges (PR:L) can exploit this vulnerability with low attack complexity and no user interaction required. Successful exploitation enables privilege escalation, resulting in high impacts to confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
The Microsoft Security Response Center provides an update guide with mitigation details at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-24293.
Details
- CWE(s)