Microsoft .NET: Link following allows local privilege escalation
Summary
A link following weakness (CWE-59) in the Microsoft .NET runtime allows an authorized local attacker to elevate privileges. The affected code runs in any .NET application on the host. An attacker needs an existing local account or process on the system and no user interaction is required. Vendor-side evidence points to Linux and macOS; Windows impact is unconfirmed.
Affected
- Microsoft .NET 8.0 runtime: 8.0.0 to before 8.0.32
- Microsoft .NET 9.0 runtime: 9.0.0 to before 9.0.21
- Microsoft .NET 10.0 runtime: 10.0.0 to before 10.0.13
- Microsoft .NET 11.0 runtime: 11.0.0 to before 11.0.0-rc.2
- Visual Studio 2022 version 17.14: 17.14.0 to before 17.14.42
- Visual Studio 2026 version 18.10: 18.10.0 to before 18.10.4
- .NET 6 (end of life): not assessed by Microsoft; a third party reports the same code path
Fixed in
- .NET 8.0.32
- .NET 9.0.21
- .NET 10.0.13
- .NET 11.0.0-rc.2
- Visual Studio 2022 17.14.42 and Visual Studio 2026 18.10.4 (per the affected ranges; verify the exact builds via MSRC)
- Distribution packages (e.g. Red Hat, Ubuntu) have their own fixed versions; use your distribution's update.
- .NET 6: Unknown. No vendor-confirmed fix.
Workaround
- No vendor workaround known. Apply the update.
Exploitation
- CISA SSVC: exploitation none, automatable no (via NVD mirror).
- Not found in CISA KEV.
- No public proof of concept found in searches; this does not prove none exists.
- EPSS score 0.00341 (15 Oct 2026).
- Nothing known about exploitation in the wild.
Our recommendation
- Identify hosts running .NET 8, 9, 10 or 11 on Linux or macOS, especially shared hosts and CI runners.
- Install the fixed .NET runtime or distribution package updates.
- Plan migration away from .NET 6, which is end of life and has no vendor fix.
- Restrict untrusted local accounts and review writable directories used by .NET services.
- Priority: medium for most SMEs; raise to high for multi-tenant or shared Linux hosts with .NET 8 to 11 services.
Information from Microsoft (Patch Tuesday October 2026)
Public exploits
PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit and Exploit-DB list nothing for this CVE.
Research sources
- MSRC Security Update Guide msrc.microsoft.com
- Microsoft .NET advisory (GHSA-2j93-m82w-73j2) github.com
- GitLab advisory mirror (fixed versions) advisories.gitlab.com
- Red Hat Bugzilla bugzilla.redhat.com
- Red Hat CVE page access.redhat.com
- Ubuntu/OSV osv.dev
- HeroDevs (third party, .NET 6) www.herodevs.com
- OpenCVE (NVD mirror, SSVC) app.opencve.io
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 2 Nov 2026, 01:01.
Original description (NVD)
Improper link resolution before file access ('link following') in .NET 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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