CVE-2026-32159: Windows Push Notifications Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Overview

Severity
High (CVSS 7.8)
CVSS Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C
Category
Elevation of Privilege
Exploit Status
Not Exploited
Exploitation Likelihood
Less Likely
Patch Tuesday
2026-Apr
Released
2026-04-14

Description

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

FAQ

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 win a race condition. What privileges could be gained by an attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability? An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain SYSTEM privileges. According to the CVSS metric, a successful exploitation could lead to a scope change (S:C). What does this mean for this vulnerability? An exploited vulnerability can affect resources beyond the security scope managed by the security authority of the vulnerable component. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are different and managed by different security authorities.

Affected Products (23)

Windows

  • 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 11 Version 26H1 for ARM64-based Systems
  • Windows 11 version 26H1 for x64-based Systems

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 (8)

Acknowledgments

Yun Cong with Microsoft

Revision History

  • 2026-04-14: Information published.