Quick answers
- Is CVE-2026-73021 exploited in the wild?
- No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-73021 being exploited in the wild.
- How severe is CVE-2026-73021?
- High severity, with a CVSS score of 7.8, published 8 September 2026.
- Which products and versions are affected?
- Microsoft Windows Biometric Service <UNKNOWN>.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2026-73021?
- No fixed version is recorded yet. Check the vendor's advisory in the references below. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.
- How is CVE-2026-73021 attacked?
- It is attacked with local access.
- Am I affected by CVE-2026-73021?
- Check whether you run Microsoft Windows Biometric Service at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.
Technical details
A heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the Windows Biometric Service due to improper input validation when processing biometric data. The vulnerability requires local authentication and interaction, but an attacker with valid credentials can trigger the overflow to achieve privilege escalation from a lower-privilege process to SYSTEM level. An attacker can craft malicious biometric input that overflows a heap buffer, enabling arbitrary code execution with elevated privileges. Patches are available from Microsoft Security Update Guide.
Affected products
- Microsoft Windows Biometric Service <UNKNOWN>
Timeline
- 2026-09-08: disclosed