📄 Description (English)
Use after free in Windows Authentication Methods allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
🤖 AI Executive Summary
CVE-2026-25171 is a use-after-free vulnerability in Windows Authentication Methods affecting multiple Windows 10 versions, allowing authorized local attackers to escalate privileges. With a CVSS score of 7.0 and no public exploit currently available, this vulnerability poses a moderate-to-high risk requiring prompt patching across Saudi enterprise environments. The vulnerability requires local access and prior authentication, limiting immediate external threat exposure but creating significant insider threat and lateral movement risks.
📄 Description (Arabic)
🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: May 10, 2026 11:18
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
This vulnerability poses significant risk to Saudi banking sector (SAMA-regulated institutions), government agencies (NCA oversight), and critical infrastructure operators. High-risk sectors include: (1) Banking & Financial Services - potential for privilege escalation enabling unauthorized access to financial systems and customer data; (2) Government & Defense - NCA-regulated entities face insider threat risks; (3) Energy Sector - ARAMCO and related entities managing critical infrastructure; (4) Telecommunications - STC and regional operators; (5) Healthcare - SEHA facilities and private hospitals. The vulnerability's requirement for local access and prior authentication makes it particularly dangerous in environments with high user density or shared workstations common in Saudi enterprises.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Banking & Financial Services
Government & Defense
Energy & Utilities
Telecommunications
Healthcare
Critical Infrastructure
Education
Large Enterprises
🎯 MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
T1548 - Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism
T1548.002 - Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism: Bypass User Account Control
T1134 - Access Token Manipulation
T1134.001 - Access Token Manipulation: Token Impersonation/Theft
T1547 - Boot or Logon Autostart Execution
T1547.001 - Boot or Logon Autostart Execution: Registry Run Keys / Startup Folder
T1547.008 - Boot or Logon Autostart Execution: LSASS Driver
T1556 - Modify Authentication Process
T1556.002 - Modify Authentication Process: Password Filter DLL
T1556.004 - Modify Authentication Process: Network Device Authentication
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
7.2
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS:
1. Inventory all Windows 10 systems (versions 1607, 1809, 21H2, 22H2) across your organization using SCCM, Intune, or similar tools
2. Prioritize patching for systems in high-security zones (banking, government, healthcare, energy)
3. Implement application whitelisting to restrict privilege escalation vectors
4. Enable Windows Defender Exploit Guard with Attack Surface Reduction rules
PATCHING GUIDANCE:
1. Apply Microsoft security updates immediately upon release through Windows Update or WSUS
2. Test patches in non-production environments first, particularly for critical systems
3. For Windows 10 1607 and 1809 (extended support), prioritize patching as these versions have longer support lifecycles
4. Implement phased rollout: critical systems first (banking/government), then general enterprise
COMPENSATING CONTROLS (if patching delayed):
1. Restrict local administrative access using Group Policy - disable local admin accounts where possible
2. Implement Just-In-Time (JIT) admin access using Privileged Access Workstations (PAW)
3. Enable Windows Defender Credential Guard to protect authentication credentials
4. Deploy User Access Control (UAC) hardening policies
5. Monitor and restrict use of RunAs and other privilege escalation mechanisms
DETECTION RULES:
1. Monitor Windows Event Logs for: Event ID 4672 (Special Privileges Assigned), Event ID 4673 (Privileged Service Called), Event ID 4688 (Process Creation with elevated tokens)
2. Alert on suspicious authentication method calls via ETW (Event Tracing for Windows) monitoring
3. Implement Sysmon rules to detect use-after-free exploitation patterns in authentication processes
4. Monitor for abnormal process creation from authentication-related processes (lsass.exe, winlogon.exe)
5. Deploy EDR solutions to detect privilege escalation attempts in real-time
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. قم بحصر جميع أنظمة Windows 10 (الإصدارات 1607 و 1809 و 21H2 و 22H2) عبر مؤسستك باستخدام SCCM أو Intune أو أدوات مماثلة
2. أعط الأولوية لتطبيق التصحيحات على الأنظمة في المناطق عالية الأمان (البنوك والحكومة والرعاية الصحية والطاقة)
3. تطبيق قائمة بيضاء للتطبيقات لتقييد متجهات تصعيد الامتيازات
4. تفعيل Windows Defender Exploit Guard مع قواعد تقليل سطح الهجوم
إرشادات التصحيح:
1. تطبيق تحديثات أمان Microsoft فورًا عند الإصدار عبر Windows Update أو WSUS
2. اختبار التصحيحات في بيئات غير الإنتاج أولاً، خاصة للأنظمة الحرجة
3. بالنسبة لـ Windows 10 1607 و 1809 (الدعم الممتد)، أعط الأولوية للتصحيح حيث أن هذه الإصدارات لها دورات دعم أطول
4. تطبيق طرح متدرج: الأنظمة الحرجة أولاً (البنوك/الحكومة)، ثم المؤسسة العامة
الضوابط التعويضية (إذا تأخر التصحيح):
1. تقييد الوصول الإداري المحلي باستخدام Group Policy - تعطيل حسابات المسؤول المحلي حيث أمكن
2. تطبيق وصول المسؤول في الوقت المناسب (JIT) باستخدام محطات عمل الوصول المميز (PAW)
3. تفعيل Windows Defender Credential Guard لحماية بيانات اعتماد المصادقة
4. نشر سياسات تقسية التحكم في وصول المستخدم (UAC)
5. مراقبة وتقييد استخدام RunAs وآليات تصعيد الامتيازات الأخرى
قواعد الكشف:
1. مراقبة سجلات أحداث Windows: معرف الحدث 4672 (تعيين امتيازات خاصة)، معرف الحدث 4673 (خدمة امتيازات مسماة)، معرف الحدث 4688 (إنشاء عملية برموز مرتفعة)
2. التنبيه على استدعاءات طرق المصادقة المريبة عبر مراقبة ETW
3. تطبيق قواعد Sysmon للكشف عن أنماط استغلال use-after-free في عمليات المصادقة
4. مراقبة إنشاء العمليات غير الطبيعية من عمليات ذات صلة بالمصادقة (lsass.exe و winlogon.exe)
5. نشر حلول EDR للكشف في الوقت الفعلي عن محاولات تصعيد الامتيازات
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
ECC 2024 A.5.1.1 - Access Control Policies (privilege escalation prevention)
ECC 2024 A.5.2.1 - User Registration and De-registration (access management)
ECC 2024 A.5.3.1 - Access Rights Review (monitoring unauthorized privilege escalation)
ECC 2024 A.8.2.1 - User Awareness and Training (insider threat awareness)
ECC 2024 A.12.2.1 - Change Management (patch management procedures)
🔵 SAMA CSF
SAMA CSF ID.AM-2 - Asset Management (inventory Windows systems)
SAMA CSF PR.AC-1 - Access Control Policy (privilege management)
SAMA CSF PR.AC-4 - Access Rights Management (least privilege enforcement)
SAMA CSF DE.CM-1 - Detection and Analysis (monitoring for exploitation)
SAMA CSF RS.MI-2 - Incident Response (privilege escalation incident handling)
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
ISO 27001:2022 A.5.2 - Information Security Policies (access control policy)
ISO 27001:2022 A.6.2 - Internal Organization (roles and responsibilities)
ISO 27001:2022 A.8.2 - Asset Management (system inventory and patching)
ISO 27001:2022 A.9.1 - Access Control (user access management)
ISO 27001:2022 A.9.2 - User Access Management (privilege management)
ISO 27001:2022 A.12.6 - Technical Vulnerability Management (patch management)
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0.1
PCI DSS 2.2 - Configuration Standards (secure configuration of Windows systems)
PCI DSS 6.2 - Security Patches (timely application of security updates)
PCI DSS 7.1 - Access Control (least privilege principle)
PCI DSS 10.2 - Logging and Monitoring (detection of privilege escalation)
📦 Affected Products / CPE 25 entries
microsoft:windows_10_1607
microsoft:windows_10_1607
microsoft:windows_10_1809
microsoft:windows_10_1809
microsoft:windows_10_21h2
microsoft:windows_10_21h2
microsoft:windows_10_21h2
microsoft:windows_10_22h2
microsoft:windows_10_22h2
microsoft:windows_10_22h2
microsoft:windows_11_23h2
microsoft:windows_11_23h2
microsoft:windows_11_24h2
microsoft:windows_11_24h2
microsoft:windows_11_25h2
microsoft:windows_11_25h2
microsoft:windows_11_26h1
microsoft:windows_11_26h1
microsoft:windows_server_2012:-
microsoft:windows_server_2012:r2
microsoft:windows_server_2016
microsoft:windows_server_2019
microsoft:windows_server_2022
microsoft:windows_server_2022_23h2
microsoft:windows_server_2025