{"id":"CVE-2026-88242","kind":"vulnerability","aliases":["CVE-2026-88242"],"related":[],"title":"Windows WinSock driver use-after-free lets a local user gain higher privileges","description":"Use after free in Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.","summary":"A use-after-free bug in the Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock (afd.sys) lets an attacker who already has a local account corrupt memory. A successful attack raises their privileges on the machine.","severity":"high","cvss":7.0,"epss":null,"exploited":false,"exploited_at":null,"products":[],"ecosystems":[],"tags":["infrastructure","windows","winsock"],"not_affected_if":["no-local-accounts"],"how_to_check":null,"fix":null,"status":"open","published_at":"2026-11-10T19:21:33+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-11-10T19:25:20+00:00","triaged_at":"2026-11-10T19:50:01+00:00","updated_at":"2026-11-10T19:50:01+00:00","category":"infrastructure","confidence":0.6,"triage":{"at":"2026-11-10T19:50:01Z","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","output":{"fix":"unknown","reach":"local","title":"Windows WinSock driver use-after-free lets a local user gain higher privileges","impact":"high","summary":"A use-after-free bug in the Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock (afd.sys) lets an attacker who already has a local account corrupt memory. A successful attack raises their privileges on the machine.","audience":"businesses","category":"infrastructure","nicknames":[],"who_cares":["windows","winsock"],"confidence":0.6,"fix_status":"unknown","needs_auth":"yes","worst_case":"local user gains SYSTEM-level control of the Windows machine","analyst_note":"Find the affected Windows builds and the Microsoft patch for CVE-2026-88242 in the MSRC advisory; NVD text alone gives no versions.","how_to_check":"- unknown","plain_action":"","product_name":"","needs_analyst":true,"not_affected_if":["no-local-accounts"],"who_is_affected":"Any Windows machine with the affected WinSock driver is exposed to a local user who already has an account. The sources do not name affected Windows builds or the patch, so the team should check Microsoft's advisory for CVE-2026-88242. Systems where only trusted administrators log in carry less practical risk.","user_interaction":"no","product_ecosystem":"","needs_special_setup":"unknown","severity_if_unknown":"high"},"cost_usd":0.000685,"input_tokens":4497,"output_tokens":470,"severity_before":"high"},"analyst_status":"queued","analyst_note":"Find the affected Windows builds and the Microsoft patch for CVE-2026-88242 in the MSRC advisory; NVD text alone gives no versions.","search":"'-2026':16A,19A '-88242':17A,20A 'account':47B 'afd.sys':38B 'allow':69C 'alreadi':43B 'ancillari':33B,64C 'attack':41B,52B,72C 'author':71C 'bug':29B 'corrupt':48B 'cve':15A,18A 'driver':3A,35B,66C 'elev':74C 'free':7A,28B,61C 'function':34B,65C 'gain':12A 'higher':13A 'infrastructur':21B 'let':8A,39B 'local':10A,46B,76C 'machin':58B 'memori':49B 'privileg':14A,55B,75C 'rais':53B 'success':51B 'use':5A,26B,59C 'use-after-fre':4A,25B 'user':11A 'window':1A,22B,32B,63C 'winsock':2A,23B,37B,68C","nicknames":[],"mitigations":[],"who_affected":"Any Windows machine with the affected WinSock driver is exposed to a local user who already has an account. The sources do not name affected Windows builds or the patch, so the team should check Microsoft's advisory for CVE-2026-88242. Systems where only trusted administrators log in carry less practical risk.","tier":"B","verified":{},"analyst_revisit_at":null,"fix_status":"none","audience":"businesses","plain_action":null,"pkeys":[],"ptokens":[],"labels":["high","infrastructure","windows","winsock"],"campaign_type":null,"search_a":"'-2026':16A,19A '-88242':17A,20A 'cve':15A,18A 'driver':3A 'free':7A 'gain':12A 'higher':13A 'let':8A 'local':10A 'privileg':14A 'use':5A 'use-after-fre':4A 'user':11A 'window':1A 'winsock':2A","search_b":"'account':47B 'afd.sys':38B 'alreadi':43B 'ancillari':33B 'attack':41B,52B 'bug':29B 'corrupt':48B 'driver':35B 'free':28B 'function':34B 'infrastructur':21B 'let':39B 'local':46B 'machin':58B 'memori':49B 'privileg':55B 'rais':53B 'success':51B 'use':26B 'use-after-fre':25B 'window':22B,32B 'winsock':23B,37B","search_c":"'allow':69C 'ancillari':64C 'attack':72C 'author':71C 'driver':66C 'elev':74C 'free':61C 'function':65C 'local':76C 'privileg':75C 'use':59C 'window':63C 'winsock':68C","cause_entry":null,"cause_path":null,"disclosures_checked_at":null,"first_public_at":"2026-11-10T19:21:33+00:00","kev":null,"cvss_vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","cvss_by":"secure@microsoft.com","poc_count":0,"sources":[{"source":"nvd","external_id":"CVE-2026-88242","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-88242","severity":null,"published_at":"2026-11-10T19:21:33+00:00","modified_at":"2026-11-10T19:21:33+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-11-10T19:25:20+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-11-10T19:25:20+00:00","note":null}],"documents":[],"disclosures":[],"exploit_sources":[],"notice":"Free to read, with fair use of about 60 pages a minute. For higher limits or API access: sales@infrastack.ai"}