CVE-2026-68821

Authenticated local privilege escalation

Published Aug 11, 2026 · Updated Aug 25, 2026

Improper privilege management in Microsoft App Installer before 1.30.80 allows local users to elevate privileges via unspecified vectors. Microsoft's advisory and the NVD entry identify Windows Package Manager as the affected component but do not disclose the code path, resource, or privilege check that fails. Reachability is local and requires at least a low-privileged account; successful exploitation grants elevated rights with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact on the host.

CVSS severity7.3
High
EPSS probability0.27%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Improper privilege management in Microsoft App Installer before 1.30.80 allows local users to elevate privileges via unspecified vectors. Microsoft's advisory and the NVD entry identify Windows Package Manager as the affected component but do not disclose the code path, resource, or privilege check that fails. Reachability is local and requires at least a low-privileged account; successful exploitation grants elevated rights with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact on the host.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-68821
Published
Aug 11, 2026
Updated
Aug 25, 2026
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-269, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 11, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 25, 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?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

7.3Microsoft CorporationCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.8NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-269Improper Privilege Management
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

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