Affects Windows Win32K, a core OS subsystem used broadly across enterprises; local privilege escalation in Windows is high-impact and widely relevant.
CVE-2026-50489
Heap-based buffer overflow in Windows Win32K allows local privilege escalation.
Is CVE-2026-50489 being exploited?
Not confirmed. CVE-2026-50489 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 0.33% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How severe is CVE-2026-50489?
CVE-2026-50489 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-2026-50489?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2026-50489. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2026-50489 affect?
CVE-2026-50489 affects Microsoft Windows (Win32K subsystem). Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
What should I do about CVE-2026-50489?
Apply vendor patch immediately when released; restrict local admin access and enforce least privilege.
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
Local attacker can exploit heap overflow in Win32K to elevate privileges to SYSTEM, enabling full host control.
Immediate action required
- affected>= 10.0.14393.0 and < 10.0.14393.9339
- affected>= 10.0.17763.0 and < 10.0.17763.9020
- affected>= 10.0.19044.0 and < 10.0.19044.7548
- affected>= 10.0.19045.0 and < 10.0.19045.7548
- affected>= 10.0.26100.0 and < 10.0.26100.8875
- affected>= 10.0.26200.0 and < 10.0.26200.8875
- affected>= 10.0.28000.0 and < 10.0.28000.2525
- affected>= 6.2.9200.0 and < 6.2.9200.26226
- affected>= 6.3.9600.0 and < 6.3.9600.23291
- affected>= 6.3.9600.0 and < 6.3.9600.23291
- affected>= 6.2.9200.0 and < 6.2.9200.26226
- affected>= 10.0.14393.0 and < 10.0.14393.9339
- affected>= 10.0.14393.0 and < 10.0.14393.9339
- affected>= 10.0.17763.0 and < 10.0.17763.9020
- affected>= 10.0.17763.0 and < 10.0.17763.9020
- affected>= 10.0.20348.0 and < 10.0.20348.5386
- affected>= 10.0.26100.0 and < 10.0.26100.33158
- affected>= 10.0.26100.0 and < 10.0.26100.33158
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.