Cryptographic Signature Bypass in Windows Admin Center Elevates Privileges

Publication date: 2026-01-13

Last updated on: 2026-01-13

Assigner: Microsoft Corporation

Description

Improper verification of cryptographic signature in Windows Admin Center allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.

CVSS Scores

EPSS Scores

Probability:
Percentile:

Meta Information

Published

2026-01-13

Last Modified

2026-01-13

Generated

2026-07-06

AI Q&A

2026-01-14

EPSS Evaluated

2026-07-05

NVD

CVE-2026-20965

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
microsoft	windows_admin_center	*

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-347	The product does not verify, or incorrectly verifies, the cryptographic signature for data.

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

This vulnerability is caused by improper verification of a cryptographic signature in Windows Admin Center, which allows an authorized attacker to elevate their privileges locally on the affected system. [1]

Impact Analysis

An attacker who is already authorized on the system can exploit this vulnerability to gain higher privileges than intended, potentially allowing them to perform actions that require elevated permissions, which can lead to significant security risks including full system compromise. [1]

Hi! I’m here to help you understand CVE-2026-20965. Ask me anything about the vulnerability, its impact, or mitigation strategies.

0/70