Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-50402

Memory Safety in Microsoft Windows 10 21H2 ≤ 10.0.19044.7548

Published
14 July 2026
Modified
22 July 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0035 28th percentile
Risk Priority 55 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-50402 is a high-severity Buffer Over-read (CWE-126) 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 28th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-6 (Least Privilege) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Incorrect conversion between numeric types in Windows NTFS allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
Why these techniques?

Local privilege escalation via exploitation of numeric conversion flaw in NTFS directly matches T1068.

Confidence: HIGH · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-50435Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607
CVE-2026-50372Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607
CVE-2025-60720Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607
CVE-2026-26184Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1809
CVE-2026-26178Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607
CVE-2025-62464Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1809
CVE-2025-62462Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1809
CVE-2025-62461Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1809
CVE-2025-24059Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607
CVE-2026-50485Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607

Affected Assets

microsoft
windows 10 1607
≤ 10.0.14393.9339 · ≤ 10.0.14393.9339
microsoft
windows 10 1809
≤ 10.0.17763.9020 · ≤ 10.0.17763.9020
microsoft
windows 10 21h2
≤ 10.0.19044.7548 · ≤ 10.0.19044.7548 · ≤ 10.0.19044.7548
microsoft
windows 10 22h2
≤ 10.0.19045.7548 · ≤ 10.0.19045.7548 · ≤ 10.0.19045.7548
microsoft
windows 11 24h2
≤ 10.0.26100.8875 · ≤ 10.0.26100.8875
microsoft
windows 11 25h2
≤ 10.0.26200.8875 · ≤ 10.0.26200.8875
microsoft
windows 11 26h1
≤ 10.0.28000.2269 · ≤ 10.0.28000.2525
microsoft
windows server 2012
all versions, r2
microsoft
windows server 2016
≤ 10.0.14393.9339
microsoft
windows server 2019
≤ 10.0.17763.9020
+2 more product configuration(s) — see NVD for full list

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)
  • SI-2 Flaw Remediation
  • AC-6 Least Privilege
  • AC-3 Access Enforcement
Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

prevent

Directly requires timely installation of patches that correct the numeric type conversion flaw in NTFS.

prevent

Enforces least privilege on local accounts so an authorized user cannot reach or exploit the NTFS conversion bug to gain elevated rights.

prevent

Access enforcement mechanisms would block the unauthorized elevation that results from successful exploitation of the NTFS flaw.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure development practices directly prevent introduction of buffer over-read weaknesses.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability identification processes can discover buffer over-read flaws via scanning or review.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching or replacing vulnerable software removes known instances of buffer over-read bugs.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

detects

Security testing in development can detect buffer over-reads before release.

prevents

Secure SDLC mandates input validation and bounds checking that can prevent buffer over-reads.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify buffer-size and bounds-checking rules.

prevents

Secure architecture principles include memory-safety and bounds-checking design choices.

prevents

Secure coding standards directly require bounds-checked buffer access, mitigating over-reads.

References