Executive brief
A security vulnerability exists in Windows Media, a component used for playing and managing multimedia files on Windows operating systems. An attacker who already has basic access to a system could exploit this flaw to run malicious code with higher privileges. This could lead to a full system compromise, allowing the attacker to view sensitive data, delete files, or install unauthorized software.
Technical details
A heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability (CWE-122) exists in the Windows Media component across multiple versions of Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025. The flaw is triggered when the component improperly handles memory allocation, allowing an attacker to overwrite adjacent memory space. An attacker with local access and low-level privileges can exploit this to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user or a service. The attack vector is local and requires no user interaction, though the attacker must already have an authenticated foothold on the system. Microsoft has released security updates to address this issue.
Affected products
- Microsoft Windows 11 Version 24H2 10.0.26100.0 to 10.0.26100.8875
- Microsoft Windows 11 Version 25H2 10.0.26200.0 to 10.0.26200.8875
- Microsoft Windows 11 version 26H1 10.0.28000.0 to 10.0.28000.2269
- Microsoft Windows Server 2025 10.0.26100.0 to 10.0.26100.33158
Timeline
- 2026-07-14: disclosed
- 2026-07-14: advisory