CVE-2026-33825

HIGH KEV

Microsoft Defender Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Title source: cna
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

CVE-2026-33825 is actively exploited and listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, added April 22, 2026. EIP tracks 5 public exploits from researchers including adminlove520, 0xBlackash, Joe1sn.

AI-analyzed exploit summary This repository contains a functional exploit PoC for CVE-2026-33825, targeting a Windows kernel vulnerability related to Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) manipulation. The code interacts with the Windows object manager and NTDLL functions to enumerate and manipulate shadow copy volumes, indicating a local privilege escalation (LPE) vector.

Description

Insufficient granularity of access control in Microsoft Defender allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.

Exploits (5)

github WORKING POC 4 stars
by adminlove520 · pythonpoc
https://github.com/adminlove520/CVE-Poc_All_in_One/tree/main/2026/CVE-2026-33825

This repository contains a functional exploit PoC for CVE-2026-33825, targeting a Windows kernel vulnerability related to Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) manipulation. The code interacts with the Windows object manager and NTDLL functions to enumerate and manipulate shadow copy volumes, indicating a local privilege escalation (LPE) vector.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Microsoft Windows (specific version not specified)
Auth required
Prerequisites: Local access to the target system · Administrative privileges to interact with VSS
devstral-2 · analyzed May 21, 2026 Full analysis →
github WRITEUP
by 0xBlackash · poc
https://github.com/0xBlackash/CVE-2026-33825

This repository provides a detailed technical analysis of CVE-2026-33825, a TOCTOU race condition vulnerability in Microsoft Defender that allows local privilege escalation to SYSTEM via NTFS reparse points and opportunistic locks.

Classification
Writeup 95%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Complex
Reliability
Racy
Target: Microsoft Defender on Windows 10/11/Server
Auth required
Prerequisites: Low-privileged user access · Microsoft Defender running with elevated privileges
devstral-2 · analyzed May 18, 2026 Full analysis →
github WORKING POC
by Joe1sn · c++local
https://github.com/Joe1sn/CVE-2026-33825

The repository contains a functional exploit PoC for CVE-2026-33825, targeting Windows systems via directory object manipulation and Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) interactions. The code dynamically resolves NTDLL functions and attempts to enumerate and manipulate shadow volume names.

Classification
Working Poc 90%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Microsoft Windows (likely Windows 10/11 or Server variants)
Auth required
Prerequisites: Local access to the target system · Administrative or SYSTEM privileges for VSS manipulation
devstral-2 · analyzed May 02, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec SUSPICIOUS
by Bilal3755 · poc
https://github.com/Bilal3755/Detecting_blue_hammer_vuln

The repository contains only a vague README with no technical details or exploit code, mentioning a 'threat hunting query' for CVE-2026-33825 without providing any actionable information.

Classification
Suspicious 90%
Attack Type
Other
Complexity
Theoretical
Reliability
Theoretical
Target: Windows (unspecified version)
No auth needed
devstral-2 · analyzed Apr 20, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WRITEUP
by Letlaka · poc
https://github.com/Letlaka/redsun-bluehammer-undefend-detection-pack

This repository provides a detailed technical analysis and detection logic for a multi-stage attack chain involving Windows Update API abuse, Defender update package retrieval, and other suspicious activities. It includes KQL queries for Microsoft Defender XDR Advanced Hunting but does not contain functional exploit code.

Classification
Writeup 90%
Attack Type
Other
Complexity
Complex
Reliability
Theoretical
Target: Microsoft Defender XDR
Auth required
Prerequisites: Access to Microsoft Defender XDR Advanced Hunting · Knowledge of KQL queries
devstral-2 · analyzed Apr 18, 2026 Full analysis →

References (3)

Core 3
Core References
Vendor Advisory vendor-advisory patch
Microsoft Defender Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-33825

Scores

CVSS v3 7.8
EPSS 0.0905
EPSS Percentile 92.8%
Attack Vector LOCAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CISA SSVC

Vulnrichment
Exploitation active
Automatable no
Technical Impact total

Details

CISA KEV 2026-04-22
VulnCheck KEV 2026-04-16
ENISA EUVD EUVD-2026-22643
CWE
CWE-1220
Status published
Products (2)
microsoft/defender_antimalware_platform < 4.18.26030.3011
Microsoft/Microsoft Defender Antimalware Platform 4.0.0.0 - 4.18.26030.3011
Published Apr 14, 2026
KEV Added Apr 22, 2026
Tracked Since Apr 14, 2026