Authenticated privilege escalation via missing authorization
Published May 12, 2026 · Updated May 12, 2026
Missing authorization in Microsoft Windows Admin Center before 2.6.5.16 allows remote authenticated users to elevate privileges over a network. Microsoft has not disclosed the affected request handler, omitted authorization check, or privileged operation that processes the request. Network access and low-privilege credentials are required; exploitation grants privileges beyond the assigned role, but the accessible resources and actions are undisclosed.
Summary
What happened
Missing authorization in Microsoft Windows Admin Center before 2.6.5.16 allows remote authenticated users to elevate privileges over a network. Microsoft has not disclosed the affected request handler, omitted authorization check, or privileged operation that processes the request. Network access and low-privilege credentials are required; exploitation grants privileges beyond the assigned role, but the accessible resources and actions are undisclosed.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-35438
- Published
- May 12, 2026
- Updated
- May 12, 2026
- Vendor
- Microsoft
- Product
- Windows Admin Center
- Classifications
- CWE-862, T1068
- Attack vector
- network
- 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
Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.
Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=1809.0 <2.6.5.16
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
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
Check the software in your environment
Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Book a demo