Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-50469

Microsoft Windows 10 21H2 ≤ 10.0.19044.7548

Published
14 July 2026
Modified
22 July 2026
Patch / advisory
View 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 0.0027 19th percentile
Risk Priority 55 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-50469 is a high-severity Link Following (CWE-59) 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 19th 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-3 (Access Enforcement) and AC-6 (Least Privilege) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A01:2025 Broken Access Control

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Improper link resolution before file access ('link following') in Windows Projected File System allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.

CWE(s)
CWE-59

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.
attack.mitre.org →
Why these techniques?

Local privilege escalation via link following in Windows Projected File System directly enables exploitation for privilege escalation (T1068).

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

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-49791Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1809
CVE-2026-42989Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1809
CVE-2026-45586Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1809
CVE-2026-25187Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1809
CVE-2026-49176Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1809
CVE-2026-50364Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 21H2
CVE-2025-21391Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1809
CVE-2025-21420Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1809
CVE-2025-21373Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1809
CVE-2025-21419Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1809

Affected Assets

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 2019
≤ 10.0.17763.9020
microsoft
windows server 2022
≤ 10.0.20348.5386
microsoft
windows server 2025
≤ 10.0.26100.33158

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)
  • AC-3 Access Enforcement
  • AC-6 Least Privilege
  • SI-7 Software, Firmware, and Information Integrity
Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)
  • SI-7 Software, Firmware, and Information Integrity
Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V15.4.2

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

AC-3 Access Enforcement good match
prevent

Directly enforces access decisions on file operations, blocking unauthorized traversal via improperly resolved links in the Projected File System.

AC-6 Least Privilege good match
prevent

Restricts privileges of the authorized attacker so that successful link-following cannot yield elevated rights on the host.

SI-7 Software, Firmware, and Information Integrity partial match
preventdetect

Verifies integrity of files and paths before access, detecting or blocking malicious link substitutions in the virtual filesystem.

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 SDLC practices directly require code to validate paths and avoid unsafe link following.

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.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
detects

Security testing can detect link-following flaws before release.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices can mandate link-resolution checks and canonicalization before file access.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can explicitly require safe handling of symbolic links and path traversal.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture principles include input validation and safe file-access design patterns.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards directly address canonicalization and symlink attacks during implementation.

A.8.3 Information access restriction none match
none

Access-control rules can limit which files are reachable, reducing exposure to malicious links.

References