CVE-2026-21223
- CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
- Published: 2026-01-16T22:16:25.983
Microsoft Edge Elevation Service exposes a privileged COM interface that inadequately validates the privileges of the calling process. A standard (non‑administrator) local user can invoke the IElevatorEdge interface method LaunchUpdateCmdElevatedAndWait, causing the service to execute privileged update commands as LocalSystem.
This allows a non‑administrator to enable or disable Windows Virtualization‑Based Security (VBS) by modifying protected system registry keys under HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlDeviceGuard. Disabling VBS weakens critical platform protections such as Credential Guard, Hypervisor‑protected Code Integrity (HVCI), and the Secure Kernel, resulting in a security feature bypass.
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How to fix CVE-2026-21223
Description: Microsoft Edge Elevation Service exposes a privileged COM interface that inadequately validates the privileges of the calling process. A standard (non‑administrator) local user can invoke the IElevatorEdge interface method LaunchUpdateCmdElevatedAndWait, causing the service to execute privileged update commands as LocalSystem. This allows a non‑administrator to enable or disable Windows Virtualization‑Based Security (VBS) by modifying protected […]
Exploit Difficulty: MEDIUM
⏱️ Time to exploit: 1-4 hours
🛠️ Required skills: Intermediate security knowledge
💰 Public exploits: May be available
How to Fix:
- Check if you're running the affected product
- Update to the latest patched version
- If patching is not immediately possible: restrict network exposure, apply least-privilege access
- Test the fix in a staging environment first
- Review logs for signs of exploitation
- Monitor for IOCs (Indicators of Compromise)
- Enable automatic security updates
- Set up vulnerability monitoring
- Review and harden security configurations
Exploit Difficulty Assessment
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No vendor/product data available.