Local SYSTEM escalation via undisclosed null dereference
Published Mar 10, 2026 · Updated Mar 10, 2026
Local privilege escalation in Microsoft Windows Performance Counters allows local users with low privileges to gain SYSTEM access. The component dereferences a null pointer, but Microsoft has not disclosed the affected function, attacker-controlled input, or operation that turns the dereference into code execution. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access and grants complete control of the affected Windows system.
Summary
What happened
Local privilege escalation in Microsoft Windows Performance Counters allows local users with low privileges to gain SYSTEM access. The component dereferences a null pointer, but Microsoft has not disclosed the affected function, attacker-controlled input, or operation that turns the dereference into code execution. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access and grants complete control of the affected Windows system.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-25165
- Published
- Mar 10, 2026
- Updated
- Mar 10, 2026
- Vendor
- Microsoft
- Product
- Windows Server 2019
- Classifications
- CWE-476, T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Mar 10, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Mar 10, 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 <10.0.17763.8511
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
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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