Physical privilege escalation via USB driver use-after-free
Published Jul 14, 2026 · Updated Jul 14, 2026
Use-after-free in the Microsoft Windows USB Print Driver allows physically proximate attackers to elevate privileges on affected Windows systems. The driver accesses memory after freeing it; Microsoft has not disclosed the triggering USB transaction, affected object, or code path. Exploitation requires physical access, no prior privileges or user interaction, and high-complexity conditions; success grants elevated control over the system.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in the Microsoft Windows USB Print Driver allows physically proximate attackers to elevate privileges on affected Windows systems. The driver accesses memory after freeing it; Microsoft has not disclosed the triggering USB transaction, affected object, or code path. Exploitation requires physical access, no prior privileges or user interaction, and high-complexity conditions; success grants elevated control over the system.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-55000
- Published
- Jul 14, 2026
- Updated
- Jul 14, 2026
- Vendor
- Microsoft
- Product
- Windows Server 2025 (Server Core installation)
- Classifications
- CWE-416, T1200
- Attack vector
- physical
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jul 14, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jul 14, 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=10.0.26100.0 <10.0.26100.33158
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.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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