{"id":"CVE-2026-96029","kind":"vulnerability","aliases":["CVE-2026-96029"],"related":[],"title":"Windows Installer: flawed access control lets a local user gain higher privileges","description":"Improper access control in Windows Installer allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.","summary":"Windows Installer has an access control flaw that lets an authorized local user raise their privileges. An attacker who already has a login on the machine can gain administrator-level control.","severity":"high","cvss":7.8,"epss":null,"exploited":false,"exploited_at":null,"products":[{"name":"Windows Installer","fixed":[],"affected":"","ecosystem":"vendor"}],"ecosystems":["vendor"],"tags":["infrastructure","local-privilege-escalation","windows","windows-installer"],"not_affected_if":["no-local-users"],"how_to_check":"Unknown until Microsoft's Update Guide entry lists builds and KBs. Check the installed Windows cumulative update against the KB for your build once it is listed, e.g. with Get-HotFix.","fix":null,"status":"open","published_at":"2026-11-10T19:21:59+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-11-10T19:25:27+00:00","triaged_at":"2026-11-10T19:36:49+00:00","updated_at":"2026-11-10T20:04:25+00:00","category":"infrastructure","confidence":0.4,"triage":{"at":"2026-11-10T19:36:49Z","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","output":{"fix":"unknown","reach":"local","title":"Windows Installer: flawed access control lets a local user gain higher privileges","impact":"high","summary":"Windows Installer has an access control flaw that lets an authorized local user raise their privileges. An attacker who already has a login on the machine can gain administrator-level control.","audience":"businesses","category":"infrastructure","nicknames":[],"who_cares":["windows"],"confidence":0.6,"fix_status":"unknown","needs_auth":"yes","worst_case":"local user gains administrator privileges on the Windows machine","analyst_note":"Check the Microsoft Security Update Guide entry for CVE-2026-96029 for affected Windows builds, the patch, and any mitigation.","how_to_check":"- unknown","plain_action":"","product_name":"Windows Installer","needs_analyst":true,"not_affected_if":[],"who_is_affected":"Any Windows machine where users with a local account can run Windows Installer is potentially exposed, since the attacker must already be authorized on the system. The sources do not name affected Windows versions or a specific configuration. unknown","user_interaction":"no","product_ecosystem":"vendor","needs_special_setup":"unknown","severity_if_unknown":"high"},"cost_usd":0.000662,"input_tokens":4476,"output_tokens":429,"severity_before":"high"},"analyst_status":"done","analyst_note":"Check the Microsoft Security Update Guide entry for CVE-2026-96029 for affected Windows builds, the patch, and any mitigation.","search":"'-2026':14A,17A '-96029':15A,18A 'access':4A,34B,63C 'administr':59B 'administrator-level':58B 'allow':68C 'alreadi':49B 'attack':47B,71C 'author':40B,70C 'control':5A,35B,61B,64C 'cve':13A,16A 'elev':73C 'escal':25B 'flaw':3A,36B 'gain':10A,57B 'higher':11A 'improp':62C 'infrastructur':21B 'instal':2A,29B,31B,67C 'installer':20A 'let':6A,38B 'level':60B 'local':8A,23B,41B,75C 'local-privilege-escal':22B 'login':52B 'machin':55B 'privileg':12A,24B,45B,74C 'rais':43B 'user':9A,42B 'window':1A,26B,28B,30B,66C 'windows':19A 'windows-instal':27B","nicknames":[],"mitigations":[],"who_affected":"Any Windows machine where users with a local account can run Windows Installer is potentially exposed, since the attacker must already be authorized on the system. The sources do not name affected Windows versions or a specific configuration. unknown","tier":"B","verified":{},"analyst_revisit_at":null,"fix_status":"unknown","audience":"businesses","plain_action":null,"pkeys":["installer","windowsinstaller"],"ptokens":["installer","windows"],"labels":["high","infrastructure","localprivilegeescalation","vendor","windows","windowsinstaller"],"campaign_type":null,"search_a":"'-2026':14A,17A '-96029':15A,18A 'access':4A 'control':5A 'cve':13A,16A 'flaw':3A 'gain':10A 'higher':11A 'instal':2A 'installer':20A 'let':6A 'local':8A 'privileg':12A 'user':9A 'window':1A 'windows':19A","search_b":"'access':34B 'administr':59B 'administrator-level':58B 'alreadi':49B 'attack':47B 'author':40B 'control':35B,61B 'escal':25B 'flaw':36B 'gain':57B 'infrastructur':21B 'instal':29B,31B 'let':38B 'level':60B 'local':23B,41B 'local-privilege-escal':22B 'login':52B 'machin':55B 'privileg':24B,45B 'rais':43B 'user':42B 'window':26B,28B,30B 'windows-instal':27B","search_c":"'access':63C 'allow':68C 'attack':71C 'author':70C 'control':64C 'elev':73C 'improp':62C 'instal':67C 'local':75C 'privileg':74C 'window':66C","cause_entry":null,"cause_path":null,"disclosures_checked_at":null,"first_public_at":"2026-11-10T19:21:59+00:00","kev":null,"cvss_vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/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-2026-96029","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-96029","severity":null,"published_at":"2026-11-10T19:21:59+00:00","modified_at":"2026-11-10T19:21:59+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-11-10T19:25:27+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-11-10T19:25:27+00:00","note":null},{"source":"analyst","external_id":"CVE-2026-96029:2604","url":null,"severity":null,"published_at":"2026-11-10T20:04:25+00:00","modified_at":"2026-11-10T20:04:25+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-11-10T20:04:25+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-11-10T20:04:25+00:00","note":"MSRC page for this CVE returned no content (JS-only), NVD page empty, search found nothing specific. Affected builds, KB and fix unknown; nothing verified. Settle by reading the MSRC Update Guide entry in a browser or the November 2026 Patch Tuesday list."}],"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"}