SYSTEM privilege escalation via use-after-free race
Published Jan 13, 2026 · Updated Jan 13, 2026
Use-after-free in Microsoft Graphics Component across affected Windows releases allows local users to gain SYSTEM privileges. Microsoft has not disclosed the freed object or the operation that reuses its memory after release. Exploitation requires low-privileged local access and winning a race condition; success crosses a security boundary to SYSTEM.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in Microsoft Graphics Component across affected Windows releases allows local users to gain SYSTEM privileges. Microsoft has not disclosed the freed object or the operation that reuses its memory after release. Exploitation requires low-privileged local access and winning a race condition; success crosses a security boundary to SYSTEM.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-20822
- Published
- Jan 13, 2026
- Updated
- Jan 13, 2026
- Vendor
- Microsoft
- Product
- Windows Server 2019
- Classifications
- CWE-416, T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jan 13, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jan 13, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=10.0.17763.0 <10.0.17763.8276
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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