CVE-2026-23670: Windows Virtualization-Based Security (VBS) Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability

Overview

Severity
Medium (CVSS 5.7)
CVSS Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N/E:U/RL:O/RC:C
Category
Security Feature Bypass
Exploit Status
Not Exploited
Exploitation Likelihood
Less Likely
Patch Tuesday
2026-Apr
Released
2026-04-14

Description

Untrusted pointer dereference in Windows Virtualization-Based Security (VBS) Enclave allows an authorized attacker to bypass a security feature locally.

FAQ

What kind of security feature could be bypassed by successfully exploiting this vulnerability? An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could bypass the Virtualization‑Based Security (VBS) feature, specifically the Virtual Secure Mode (VSM) isolation between Virtual Trust Level 0 (VTL0) and Virtual Trust Level 1 (VTL1). This could allow a compromised Windows kernel to modify memory belonging to the secure kernel, breaking the intended isolation guarantees provided by VBS. According to the CVSS metric, the attack complexity is high (AC:H). What does that mean for this vulnerability? Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires an attacker to take additional actions prior to exploitation to prepare the target environment.

Affected Products (27)

Windows

  • Windows 11 Version 26H1 for ARM64-based Systems
  • Windows 11 version 26H1 for x64-based Systems
  • Windows 10 Version 1809 for 32-bit Systems
  • Windows 10 Version 1809 for x64-based Systems
  • Windows Server 2019
  • Windows Server 2019 (Server Core installation)
  • Windows Server 2022
  • Windows Server 2022 (Server Core installation)
  • Windows 10 Version 21H2 for 32-bit Systems
  • Windows 10 Version 21H2 for ARM64-based Systems
  • Windows 10 Version 21H2 for x64-based Systems
  • Windows Server 2025 (Server Core installation)
  • Windows 11 Version 25H2 for ARM systems
  • Windows 11 Version 25H2 for x64-based Systems
  • Windows 11 Version 23H2 for ARM64-based Systems
  • Windows 11 Version 23H2 for x64-based Systems
  • Windows Server 2022, 23H2 Edition (Server Core installation)
  • Windows 11 Version 24H2 for ARM64-based Systems
  • Windows 11 Version 24H2 for x64-based Systems
  • Windows Server 2025
  • Windows 10 Version 1607 for 32-bit Systems
  • Windows 10 Version 1607 for x64-based Systems
  • Windows Server 2016
  • Windows Server 2016 (Server Core installation)

ESU

  • Windows 10 Version 22H2 for x64-based Systems
  • Windows 10 Version 22H2 for ARM64-based Systems
  • Windows 10 Version 22H2 for 32-bit Systems

Security Updates (9)

Acknowledgments

Sam Collins, University of Birmingham in collaboration with Prof Tom Chothia and Dr Marius Muench

Revision History

  • 2026-04-14: Information published.