CVE-2026-26153
Published: 14 April 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-26153 is a high-severity Out-of-bounds Read (CWE-125) 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 15.2th 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
Directly remediates the out-of-bounds read vulnerability in Windows EFS through timely identification, testing, and application of patches or updates.
Provides memory protection techniques that directly counter out-of-bounds read memory corruption vulnerabilities like CWE-125 in EFS, preventing exploitation for privilege escalation.
Enforces least privilege to limit the scope and impact of local low-privilege attackers exploiting the EFS vulnerability for elevation.
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Out-of-bounds read in EFS directly enables local privilege escalation from low-privileged context with no user interaction, matching T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation.
NVD Description
Out-of-bounds read in Windows Encrypting File System (EFS) allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
Deeper analysisAI
CVE-2026-26153 is an out-of-bounds read vulnerability (CWE-125) in the Windows Encrypting File System (EFS), affecting Windows systems that utilize EFS for file encryption. Published on 2026-04-14, it has 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), indicating high severity due to its potential for significant impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
A local attacker with low privileges (PR:L) can exploit this vulnerability without user interaction by triggering the out-of-bounds read in EFS. Successful exploitation allows privilege escalation, enabling the attacker to gain higher-level access on the system.
Microsoft's advisory provides details on mitigation and patches via the update guide at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-26153.
Details
- CWE(s)