Link following in Microsoft products - CVE-2026-96225
Published: October 14, 2026
Vulnerability identifier: #VU155428
CSH Severity: Low
CVSS v4: 8.5 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]
CVE-ID: CVE-2026-96225
CWE-ID: CWE-59
Exploitation vector: Local access
Exploit availability:
No public exploit available
Vulnerability details
The vulnerability allows a local user to escalate privileges to root.
The vulnerability exists due to improper link resolution before file access in .NET when accessing files through links. A local user can exploit link-following behavior to escalate privileges to root.
Affected software
Visual Studio
.NET for macOS
.NET for Linux
.NET for macOS
.NET for Linux
How to mitigate CVE-2026-96225
Install security update from vendor's website.
Visual Studio - update to 17.14.42
.NET for macOS - addressed in versions 8.0.32, 9.0.21
.NET for Linux - addressed in versions 8.0.32, 9.0.21
.NET for macOS - addressed in versions 8.0.32, 9.0.21
.NET for Linux - addressed in versions 8.0.32, 9.0.21