Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-50501

Memory Safety in Microsoft Windows 11 24H2 ≤ 10.0.26100.8875

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:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0034 26th percentile
Risk Priority 55 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-50501 is a high-severity Stack-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-121) vulnerability in Microsoft Windows 11 24H2. 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 26th 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 SI-16 (Memory Protection) and AC-6 (Least Privilege) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Stack-based buffer overflow in Windows Resilient File System (ReFS) allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code 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?

Stack-based buffer overflow in ReFS driver enables local code execution, directly mapping to exploitation for privilege escalation.

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

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-50318Same product: Microsoft Windows 11 24H2
CVE-2026-57091Same product: Microsoft Windows 11 24H2
CVE-2026-50400Same product: Microsoft Windows 11 24H2
CVE-2026-50412Same product: Microsoft Windows 11 24H2
CVE-2026-49789Same product: Microsoft Windows 11 24H2
CVE-2026-40399Same product: Microsoft Windows 11 24H2
CVE-2026-50387Same product: Microsoft Windows 11 24H2
CVE-2026-32195Same product: Microsoft Windows 11 26H1
CVE-2026-21224Same vendor: Microsoft
CVE-2026-54983Same product: Microsoft Windows 11 24H2

Affected Assets

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
≤ 10.0.28000.2525 · ≤ 10.0.28000.2525
microsoft
windows server 2025
≤ 10.0.26100.33158

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)
  • SI-16 Memory Protection
  • CM-7 Least Functionality
  • AC-6 Least Privilege
Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 2 hardening rules · 2 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

prevent

Memory protection mechanisms (e.g., stack canaries, ASLR, DEP) directly block exploitation of the stack-based buffer overflow in ReFS.

prevent

Disabling or restricting the ReFS driver when not required eliminates the vulnerable attack surface for local code execution.

prevent

Least-privilege restrictions on local users and processes limit the ability of an unauthorized attacker to trigger the ReFS 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 stack buffer overflows.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning can discover stack buffer overflows but does not prevent their introduction.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching eliminates known instances of the weakness after discovery.

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 (fuzzing, static analysis) detects stack overflows before release.

prevents

Secure SDLC mandates buffer-safety practices that directly prevent stack overflows.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify buffer-size and input-validation rules.

prevents

Secure architecture principles include memory-safety and least-privilege stack usage.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe buffer handling that causes CWE-121.

none

Change-management gates can enforce security reviews that catch buffer issues.

References