CVE-2026-49806

Analyzed Analyzed - Analysis Complete

Race Condition in Windows USB Print Driver

Publication date: 2026-07-14

Last updated on: 2026-07-22

Assigner: Microsoft Corporation

Description

Concurrent execution using shared resource with improper synchronization ('race condition') in Windows USB Print Driver allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.

CVSS Scores

EPSS Scores

Probability:
Percentile:

Meta Information

Published

2026-07-14

Last Modified

2026-07-22

Generated

2026-08-03

AI Q&A

2026-07-14

EPSS Evaluated

2026-08-02

NVD

CVE-2026-49806

EUVD

EUVD-2026-43824

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
microsoft	windows_11_26h1	to 10.0.28000.2269 (exc)
microsoft	windows_server_2025	to 10.0.26100.33158 (exc)
microsoft	windows_11_26h1	to 10.0.28000.2525 (exc)
microsoft	windows_11_24h2	to 10.0.26100.8875 (exc)
microsoft	windows_11_24h2	to 10.0.26100.8875 (exc)
microsoft	windows_11_25h2	to 10.0.26200.8875 (exc)
microsoft	windows_11_25h2	to 10.0.26200.8875 (exc)

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-416	The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.
CWE-362	The product contains a concurrent code sequence that requires temporary, exclusive access to a shared resource, but a timing window exists in which the shared resource can be modified by another code sequence operating concurrently.

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

This vulnerability is a race condition in the Windows USB Print Driver. A race condition occurs when multiple processes or threads access a shared resource without proper synchronization, leading to unpredictable behavior.

In this case, the improper synchronization in the driver allows an authorized attacker with local access to exploit the race condition. By doing so, the attacker can elevate their privileges on the system, gaining higher levels of access than they were originally granted.

Detection Guidance

The provided context does not include specific detection methods or commands for identifying this vulnerability on a network or system. This vulnerability is related to a race condition in the Windows USB Print Driver, which typically requires local access and specific conditions to exploit.

To detect potential exposure, you may check for the presence of affected Windows systems and ensure they are running updated versions of the USB Print Driver. However, no direct commands or tools are mentioned in the provided resources.

Impact Analysis

If you are affected by this vulnerability, an attacker with local access to your system could exploit it to elevate their privileges.

The attacker could gain administrative or system-level access, allowing them to execute malicious actions such as installing malware, stealing sensitive data, or modifying system configurations.
This could lead to a complete compromise of the affected system, including unauthorized access to files, applications, or network resources.

The CVSS score of 7.0 indicates a high severity, meaning the impact could be significant if exploited.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability could impact compliance with several standards and regulations, depending on the context of the affected system.

GDPR: If the system processes personal data of EU citizens, a privilege escalation vulnerability could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive information, violating GDPR requirements for data protection and confidentiality.
HIPAA: For systems handling protected health information (PHI), this vulnerability could result in unauthorized access to patient data, violating HIPAA's security and privacy rules.
Other standards like ISO 27001 or NIST frameworks require organizations to maintain secure systems. A privilege escalation vulnerability could indicate a failure to implement proper access controls or vulnerability management, leading to non-compliance.

Organizations should assess the risk posed by this vulnerability and apply patches or mitigations to maintain compliance with relevant regulations.

Mitigation Strategies

Based on the provided context, the following steps are recommended to mitigate this vulnerability:

Apply the latest security updates from Microsoft as soon as they are available. Refer to the Microsoft Update Guide for CVE-2026-49806 for patch details.
Restrict local access to systems to only authorized users, as the vulnerability requires local privileges to exploit.
Monitor Microsoft's security advisories for additional guidance or workarounds if patches are not immediately available.

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