Executive brief
A security vulnerability exists in Windows Group Policy, a feature used by administrators to manage settings across computers in a network. An attacker who already has a basic user account on a system could exploit this flaw to gain full administrative control. This could allow them to access sensitive data, install malicious software, or disrupt business operations on the affected machine.
Technical details
A local privilege escalation vulnerability exists in Windows Group Policy due to improper privilege management (CWE-269). An attacker with low-privileged access to a target system can exploit this flaw to gain elevated permissions, potentially reaching SYSTEM or Administrator levels. The attack vector is local, requiring the attacker to already have execution capabilities on the machine, but it requires no user interaction. Microsoft has released security updates to address this issue across various versions of Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server 2012.
Affected products
- Microsoft Windows 10 1607, 1809, 21H2, 22H2
- Microsoft Windows 11 24H2, 25H2, 26H1
- Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Standard and Server Core
Timeline
- 2026-07-14: disclosed
- 2026-07-14: advisory: Microsoft released security updates.