CVE-2026-26183
Published: 14 April 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-26183 is a high-severity Improper Access Control (CWE-284) vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Server 2012. 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 13.9th 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 AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and AC-6 (Least Privilege).
Threat & Defense at a Glance
Threat & Defense Details
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5)AI
Directly enforces approved authorizations for logical access, addressing the improper access control flaw in the Windows RPC API that enables local privilege escalation.
Enforces least privilege principle to restrict low-privileged local accounts from gaining elevated access via the vulnerable RPC API.
Mandates timely identification, reporting, and correction of flaws like this CVE through patching or updates provided in MSRC guidance.
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Improper access control in Windows RPC API directly enables local privilege escalation from a low-privileged authorized account (AV:L/PR:L), matching T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation.
NVD Description
Improper access control in Windows RPC API allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
Deeper analysisAI
CVE-2026-26183 is an improper access control vulnerability in the Windows RPC API that allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally. It affects Microsoft Windows systems and carries 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), mapped to CWE-284: Improper Access Control. The vulnerability was published on 2026-04-14T18:16:55.187.
The attack requires local access with low privileges (PR:L) and can be exploited with low complexity (AC:L) and no user interaction (UI:N). A successful exploit grants the attacker high impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:H/I:H/A:H), enabling local privilege escalation from an authorized but low-privileged account.
Mitigation guidance is available in the Microsoft Security Response Center advisory at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-26183.
Details
- CWE(s)