CVE-2026-85884: Windows Health and Optimized Experiences Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Overview

Severity: High (CVSS 7.8)
CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C
Category: Elevation of Privilege
Exploit Status: Not Exploited
Exploitation Likelihood: More Likely
Patch Tuesday: 2026-Oct
Released: 2026-10-13

Description

Missing authentication for critical function in Windows Health and Optimized Experiences Service 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 SYSTEM privileges.

Affected Products (8)

Windows

Windows 11 Version 25H2 for ARM64-based Systems
Windows 11 Version 25H2 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
Windows 11 Version 26H2 for ARM64-based Systems
Windows 11 Version 26H2 for x64-based Systems

Security Updates (2)

Acknowledgments

[h4urek](https://x.com/h4urek) and [Bocheng Xiang](https://x.com/crispr_x) with secsys lab https://secsys.fudan.edu.cn/, shoodagiri with <a href="https://gmo-cybersecurity.com/">GMO Cybersecurity by Ierae Inc</a>, sweetchip, Daejin Lee, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-burns89/">Will Burns </a> with <a href="https://stellar.tech/"> Stellar Technologies Security Research</a>, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/wwjohnson/">Wayne Johnson</a> with <a href="https://stellar.tech/">Stellar Technologies, LLC</a>, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-hetelson/">Matt Hetelson</a>, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexhagenah/">Alexander Hagenah (@xaitax)</a>, [h4urek](https://x.com/h4urek) and [Bocheng Xiang](https://x.com/crispr_x) with secsys lab https://secsys.fudan.edu.cn/

Revision History

2026-10-13: Information published.