Local privilege escalation via GRFX use-after-free
Published May 12, 2026 · Updated May 12, 2026
Use-after-free in Microsoft Windows Win32K GRFX allows local users with low privileges to elevate privileges on affected systems. Microsoft identifies the flaw as use-after-free in the GRFX component but has not disclosed the freed object, triggering operation, or memory-lifetime sequence. Exploitation requires a low-privileged local account and no user interaction; successful abuse grants elevated Windows privileges.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in Microsoft Windows Win32K GRFX allows local users with low privileges to elevate privileges on affected systems. Microsoft identifies the flaw as use-after-free in the GRFX component but has not disclosed the freed object, triggering operation, or memory-lifetime sequence. Exploitation requires a low-privileged local account and no user interaction; successful abuse grants elevated Windows privileges.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-35417
- Published
- May 12, 2026
- Updated
- May 12, 2026
- Vendor
- Microsoft
- Product
- Windows Server 2019
- Classifications
- CWE-843, T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 12, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 12, 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 <10.0.17763.8755
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.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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