CVE-2026-42989: Winlogon Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
Improper link resolution before file access ('link following') in Winlogon allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
CSIRTS triage
- What
- An authorized attacker can elevate privileges locally due to improper link resolution before file access.
- Who is affected
- Authorized users of Winlogon are affected.
- Urgency
- Remediation is high urgency due to the potential for privilege escalation.
- Action
- Apply the latest security updates from Microsoft.
AI-assisted analysis generated from the source advisory — verify against the original.
⚡ Watch Winlogon
Get an email when a new Winlogon advisory drops — max one per day, one-click unsubscribe.
Details
Original advisory: https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-42989
Exploitation outlook
EPSS (FIRST.org) estimates each CVE’s probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — here is the CSIRTS.com read on those numbers.
- Moderate exploitation riskCVE-2026-429892.3% 30-day exploitation probability. Patch within normal cadence, watch for KEV listing. Riskier than 81% of all scored CVEs.
Referenced CVEs
| CVE | CSIRTS overview | External |
|---|---|---|
| CVE-2026-42989 | coverage & exploitation status | NVD · CVE.org |
More from Microsoft Security Response Center
- highCVE-2026-12064: proto-default skips SSH verification2026-07-02
- unknownCVE-2026-14125: Chromium: CVE-2026-14125 Uninitialized Use in ANGLE2026-07-02
- mediumCVE-2026-57987: Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based) Spoofing Vulnerability2026-07-02
- unknownCVE-2026-13775: Chromium: CVE-2026-13775 Use after free in GPU2026-07-02
- unknownCVE-2026-13779: Chromium: CVE-2026-13779 Use after free in Chromoting2026-07-02