ZDI-26-445: Microsoft Windows WMI Providers Incorrect Authorization Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
Admiralty grading (A–F · 1–6)
Source reliability
- A Completely reliable
- B Usually reliable
- C Fairly reliable
- D Not usually reliable
- E Unreliable
- F Cannot be judged
Information credibility
- 1 Confirmed
- 2 Probably true
- 3 Possibly true
- 4 Doubtful
- 5 Improbable
- 6 Cannot be judged
NATO Admiralty (AJP-2.1) grades confidence, independent of the risk score. Cross-source corroboration isn't tracked for non-CVE news, so single-source items are capped at a lower credibility number; a low number does not imply low quality.
Key metrics
- CVSS
- 7.0
- EPSS
- 0%
Affected versions
Key insight
Local privilege escalation vulnerability in Windows WMI requires initial code execution, affects all Windows Server versions in the IT infrastructure.
Description
The CVE-2026-50325 vulnerability in Windows WMI Providers allows attackers with low privileges to escalate privileges on affected Windows installations. An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system. With a CVSS score of 7.0, this is a significant local escalation risk. The vulnerability affects Windows Server environments and requires timely patch management.
Risk score
- cvss base
- 70.00
- kev bonus
- 0.00
- epss bonus
- 0.00
- poc bonus
- 15.00
- raw before weight
- 85.00
- industry weight
- 1.21
- freshness factor
- 0.50
- exploitability factor
- 1.00
- days old
- 49.00
- vendor mismatch penalty
- 0.00
Path: operational
MITRE ATT&CK mapping
3 TTPsProcedure details
| Technique | Tactic | Procedure | Conf. | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1078.003 Local Accounts | Privilege Escalation | Attacker leverages CVE-2026-50325 incorrect authorization in Microsoft Windows WMI Providers to escalate privileges from a low-privileged local account to higher privileges on the target system | high | llm |
| T1546.003 Windows Management Instrumentation Event Subscription | Privilege Escalation | The vulnerability exists within Microsoft Windows WMI Providers, where incorrect authorization checks allow local attackers to abuse WMI provider functionality to escalate privileges | high | llm |
| T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation | Privilege Escalation | CVE-2026-50325 is exploited by a local attacker with low-privileged code execution to escalate privileges on affected Microsoft Windows installations via incorrect authorization in WMI Providers | high | llm |