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CVE-2026-69673: Windows Update Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

• Severity: high (CVSS 7.8 v3.1)
• Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
• EPSS: 0.5% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
• Public exploit or detection template: none known
• Published: 2026-10-13 · updated 2026-10-31
• Weakness: CWE-59

Description

Improper link resolution before file access ('link following') in Windows Update allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.

Affected products

• Microsoft Windows 11: before 10.0.22631.7652 — fixed in 10.0.22631.7652
• Microsoft Windows 11: before 10.0.26100.9711 — fixed in 10.0.26100.9711
• Microsoft Windows 11 25H2: before 10.0.26200.9711 — fixed in 10.0.26200.9711
• Microsoft Windows 11 version 26H1: before 10.0.28000.3231 — fixed in 10.0.28000.3231
• Microsoft Windows 11 26H2: before 10.0.26300.9711 — fixed in 10.0.26300.9711
• Microsoft Windows Server 2025: before 10.0.26100.33650 — fixed in 10.0.26100.33650
• Microsoft Windows 11: from 10.0.22631.0 before 10.0.22631.7652 — fixed in 10.0.22631.7652
• Microsoft Windows 11: from 10.0.26100.0 before 10.0.26100.9711 — fixed in 10.0.26100.9711
• Microsoft Windows 11 25H2: from 10.0.26200.0 before 10.0.26200.9711 — fixed in 10.0.26200.9711
• Microsoft Windows 11 version 26H1: from 10.0.28000.0 before 10.0.28000.3231 — fixed in 10.0.28000.3231
• Microsoft Windows 11 26H2: from 10.0.26300.0 before 10.0.26300.9711 — fixed in 10.0.26300.9711
• Microsoft Windows Server 2025: from 10.0.26100.0 before 10.0.26100.33650 — fixed in 10.0.26100.33650

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Microsoft Windows 11 10.0.22631.7652; Microsoft Windows 11 10.0.26100.9711; Microsoft Windows 11 25H2 10.0.26200.9711; Microsoft Windows 11 version 26H1 10.0.28000.3231; Microsoft Windows 11 26H2 10.0.26300.9711; Microsoft Windows Server 2025 10.0.26100.33650; Microsoft Windows 11 10.0.22631.7652; Microsoft Windows 11 10.0.26100.9711; Microsoft Windows 11 25H2 10.0.26200.9711; Microsoft Windows 11 version 26H1 10.0.28000.3231; Microsoft Windows 11 26H2 10.0.26300.9711; Microsoft Windows Server 2025 10.0.26100.33650. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

In the news

• Microsoft’s October 2026 Patch Tuesday addresses 1407 CVEs (CVE-2026-96951)

References

• https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-69673

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