Untrusted Pointer Dereference in Microsoft Windows and Windows Server - CVE-2026-78444
Published: September 9, 2026
Vulnerability identifier: #VU148202
CSH Severity: High
CVSS v4: 9.2 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]
CVE-ID: CVE-2026-78444
CWE-ID: CWE-822
Exploitation vector: Remote access
Exploit availability:
No public exploit available
Vulnerability details
The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code.
The vulnerability exists due to untrusted pointer dereference in Windows Failover Cluster when handling a specially crafted network packet. A remote attacker can send a specially crafted packet to an affected service to execute arbitrary code.
Successful exploitation requires winning a race condition.
Affected software
Microsoft Windows
Windows Server
Windows Server
How to mitigate CVE-2026-78444
Install security update from vendor's website.
Microsoft Windows - update to 10 1809 10.0.17763.9245
Windows Server - addressed in versions 2019 10.0.17763.9245, 2022 10.0.20348.5622, 2025 10.0.26100.33438
Windows Server - addressed in versions 2019 10.0.17763.9245, 2022 10.0.20348.5622, 2025 10.0.26100.33438