CVE-2026-50438
Local privilege escalation in Microsoft PC Manager via improper link resolution.
Is CVE-2026-50438 being exploited?
Not confirmed. CVE-2026-50438 does not appear in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which records only exploitation that has been observed and reported publicly. That is evidence of absence of a report, not evidence the flaw is unattacked. EPSS currently estimates a 0.37% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How severe is CVE-2026-50438?
CVE-2026-50438 is rated High with a CVSS score of 8.8. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2026-50438?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2026-50438. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2026-50438 affect?
CVE-2026-50438 affects Microsoft PC Manager, Windows systems with PC Manager installed. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
What should I do about CVE-2026-50438?
Apply vendor patch when released; remove or restrict PC Manager and limit local accounts
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
Authorized local attacker can escalate privileges to Administrator/SYSTEM by exploiting link-following before file access.
Patch when possible
- affected>= 1.0.0 and < 3.22.1.0
As published in the CVE Program record. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.