CVE-2026-81354: Windows Hello Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Overview

Severity
High (CVSS 8.2)
CVSS Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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-Sep
Released
2026-09-08

Description

Heap-based buffer overflow in Windows Hello allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.

FAQ

What privileges could be gained by an attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability? An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain Virtual Trust Level 1 (VTL1) privileges. How could an attacker exploit this vulnerability? An attacker with administrative control of the operating system, or control of a face-sensor adapter, could submit malformed face data to the Windows Hello Face secure sensor adapter. Successful exploitation could allow the attacker to execute code across the VTL0-to-VTL1 security boundary. User interaction is not required.

Affected Products (18)

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 10 Version 21H2 for 32-bit Systems
  • Windows 10 Version 21H2 for ARM64-based Systems
  • Windows 10 Version 21H2 for x64-based Systems
  • Windows 11 Version 25H2 for ARM64-based 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 11 Version 24H2 for ARM64-based Systems
  • Windows 11 Version 24H2 for x64-based Systems
  • Windows 11 version 26H1 for x64-based Systems
  • Windows 11 Version 26H1 for ARM64-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 (5)

Acknowledgments

pwn2addr

Revision History

  • 2026-09-08: Information published.