Use-after-free in Microsoft Windows and Windows Server - CVE-2026-96992
Published: November 11, 2026
Vulnerability identifier: #VU165795
CSH Severity: Medium
CVSS v4: 5.4 [CVSS:4.0/AV:P/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]
CVE-ID: CVE-2026-96992
CWE-ID: CWE-416
Exploitation vector: Local access
Exploit availability:
No public exploit available
Vulnerability details
The vulnerability allows an attacker with physical access to system to escalate privileges to SYSTEM.
The vulnerability exists due to use-after-free in the Windows PCI Bus Driver when previously freed memory is accessed during driver operation. An attacker with physical access to system can exploit this memory-handling flaw through a physical attack to gain SYSTEM privileges.
Successful exploitation requires winning a race condition.
Affected software
Microsoft Windows
Windows Server
Windows Server
How to mitigate CVE-2026-96992
Install security update from vendor's website.
Microsoft Windows - addressed in versions 10 21H2 10.0.19044.7846, 10 22H2 10.0.19045.7846, 11 23H2 10.0.22631.7711, 11 24H2 10.0.26100.9911, 11 24H2 10.0.26100.9974, 11 25H2 10.0.26200.9911, 11 25H2 10.0.26200.9974, 11 26H1 10.0.28000.3501
Windows Server - addressed in versions 2022 10.0.20348.5870, 2025 10.0.26100.33730, 2025 10.0.26100.33822
Windows Server - addressed in versions 2022 10.0.20348.5870, 2025 10.0.26100.33730, 2025 10.0.26100.33822