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CVE-2026-68820 is a high-severity local elevation-of-privilege vulnerability in the Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock, implemented in the kernel-mode AFD component that underpins the Windows Sockets API. The flaw is a use-after-free condition in AFD.sys that can be triggered by a specially crafted local application. Available reporting also indicates exploitation involves a race condition and may require repeated attempts. Successful exploitation allows an authorized attacker with low privileges to execute code in a highly privileged context and elevate to SYSTEM. Microsoft disclosed and patched the vulnerability in its August 2026 security updates, and the issue has been reported as actively exploited in the wild.
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No valid public exploits. Mallory filtered out 2 candidates as fakes, detection scripts, or README-only repos.
All candidate exploits were filtered out by Mallory's validation.
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Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.
230 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.
A privilege escalation vulnerability in the Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock (AFD.sys) that was used as a zero-day by Lazarus to help deploy malware during Operation Dream Job intrusions.
A use-after-free vulnerability in the Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock that allows SYSTEM-level code execution.
A Windows AFD.sys use-after-free privilege escalation zero-day that Lazarus exploited to gain kernel access and deploy the FudModule rootkit during Operation Dream Job attacks.
A zero-day elevation of privilege vulnerability in the Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock that Microsoft says attackers could exploit and that was publicly disclosed before a patch was available.
Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.
Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.
Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.
YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.
Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.
Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.