Windows Sysinternals Process Monitor: Local privilege escalation
Summary
Microsoft Sysinternals Process Monitor versions 1.0 up to but not including v4.04 contain an untrusted pointer dereference that allows an authorized local attacker to elevate privileges. The CVSS vector indicates high impact on integrity and availability, with no confidentiality impact. The attacker needs a valid low-privilege account on the system and must run in the local context; the flaw is not remotely exploitable.
Affected
- Windows Sysinternals Process Monitor 1.0 to before v4.04 (per CNA data)
Fixed in
- Update to v4.04 or later (fix version implied by the CNA data; confirm the fixed build and download location on the MSRC Security Updates section)
Workaround
Unknown.
Exploitation
- No known exploitation at release (Microsoft exploit code maturity: Unproven, E:U)
- CISA SSVC: Exploitation none, Automatable no, Technical Impact total
- No public proof of concept found in the research
- Not verified against CISA KEV catalogue
Our recommendation
- Inventory all Process Monitor copies on endpoints, servers and in admin shares, including portable copies
- Update to v4.04 or later and remove older copies
- Limit local administrator rights and monitor for unexpected Process Monitor binaries
- Treat as part of the October 2026 Patch Tuesday cycle with medium priority
- Re-check the NVD entry and MSRC page once NVD analysis is complete
Information from Microsoft (Patch Tuesday October 2026)
Public exploits
PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit and Exploit-DB list nothing for this CVE.
Research sources
- Microsoft Security Update Guide: CVE-2026-105729 msrc.microsoft.com
- Vulners CVE List record vulners.com
- Strix CVE record www.strix.ai
- SonicWall: Microsoft October 2026 security bulletin coverage www.sonicwall.com
Researched and written up in English and German by an AI (Claude by Anthropic) based on NVD, CISA, EPSS and the sources listed. The vendor information is authoritative. Researched on 3 Nov 2026, 14:31.
Original description (NVD)
Untrusted pointer dereference in SysInternals allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
NVD references (1)
Sources
The tracker combines official, freely usable data sources – updated continuously:
- NVD (NIST) – CVEs, rating (CVSS), affected products
- CISA KEV – vulnerabilities confirmed by CISA as actively exploited
- CISA Vulnrichment – CISA assessment (SSVC) in the official CVE record
- FIRST EPSS – probability of exploitation
- Microsoft MSRC – Patch Tuesday: vulnerabilities, severity, updates
- PoC-in-GitHub – public proof-of-concept repositories
- Metasploit (Rapid7) – modules of the Metasploit Framework
- Exploit-DB (OffSec) – archive of public exploits (links only)
- Patch days: official vendor pages (linked per vendor) (Vendor patch days)
This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS data © FIRST.org.
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