Executive brief
A security vulnerability exists in the Windows Graphics Kernel, a core component responsible for managing visual displays and hardware acceleration. An attacker who already has basic access to a computer could exploit this flaw to gain full administrative control over the system. This could allow them to bypass security restrictions, access sensitive data, or install malicious software.
Technical details
A race condition (CWE-362) exists in the Windows Graphics Kernel due to improper synchronization when multiple processes or threads access a shared resource concurrently. To exploit this, an attacker must first have local access to the target system with low-level user privileges. By successfully winning the race condition, the attacker can achieve local privilege escalation (LPE), potentially gaining SYSTEM-level access. The vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2026-20814 and has been addressed in Microsoft's January 2026 security updates.
Affected products
- Microsoft Windows 10 1607, 1809, 21H2, 22H2
- Microsoft Windows 11 22H3, 23H2, 24H2, 25H2
- Microsoft Windows Server 2016 Standard and Server Core
Timeline
- 2026-01-13: advisory: Initial disclosure by Microsoft and NVD