Executive brief
A security vulnerability exists in Windows Media components that could allow a user with basic network access to gain higher-level administrative privileges. Windows Media is a core set of multimedia technologies used for playing and managing audio and video content on Windows devices. If exploited, an attacker could take full control of the affected system, potentially leading to unauthorized data access or the installation of malicious software.
Technical details
This vulnerability is classified as a race condition (CWE-362) leading to a use-after-free (CWE-416) scenario within Windows Media components. The flaw stems from improper synchronization during concurrent execution when accessing shared resources. An attacker must be authenticated with low-level privileges (PR:L) and navigate high attack complexity (AC:H) to successfully exploit the timing window. Successful exploitation allows for local privilege escalation (LPE) via a network vector, granting the attacker full system compromise (High confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact). Microsoft has released security updates to address this issue in affected Windows 11 versions.
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
Timeline
- 2026-07-14: disclosed
- 2026-07-14: advisory