Improper neutralization of special elements used in a command ('command injection') in Windows Shell allows an unauthorized attacker to bypass a security feature over a network.
CVE-2026-96951
CRITICALPre-NVD 8.89.0Trending — KEV-added this weekExploited in the wildEG-KEV Tier 1: Exploited in the wildEG-KEV is EchelonGraph's own tiering of exploitation signals from CISA KEV, CISA's SSVC data (Vulnrichment), ransomware data, public exploit-code references and EPSS.Tier 1 is evidence of exploitation in the wild: a CISA KEV listing, CISA's SSVC exploitation value "active", or known ransomware campaign use.Signals for this CVE: listed in CISA KEV.First exploitation evidence (added to CISA KEV): 2026-10-13EchelonGraph confidence 90%: a heuristic from the tier and the number of signals, not a measured probability.
EchelonGraph scoreHIGH confidence
“▲” beside the score: it is higher than the CVSS score beside it.
Score elevated to 9.0 because this CVE is listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2026-10-13), indicating real-world exploitation has been confirmed by US federal agencies. A secondary CVSS source baseline 8.8 retained for reference (NVD's own analysis pending). Confidence: HIGH.
Triggered by: CISA KEV (actively exploited)
Sources: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, GitHub Security Advisory, a secondary CVSS source
9.0EG
EchelonGraph verdictPatch nowTreat as an emergency — this is being exploited.
- Actively exploited in the wild (CISA-KEV) — the reason this is sooner than the SSVC decision on this page at low or medium mission impact
CISA-KEV: ExploitedEPSS PROB: —CVSS: 8.8Exploit: No code on recordExposed services: Not assessed
A fix is available — apply it.
- CVSS v3
- 8.8
- EG Score
- 9.0CRITICALhigh confidence
- EG Risk
- 81EG Risk 81/100
EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).
How it’s computed (value × EchelonGraph’s weight)Severity90% × 45%The EG Score, 9.0 of 10.Exploitation100% × 40%Fixed at 100% for a CISA KEV listing: EchelonGraph's rule.Automatability0% × 15%CISA's SSVC Automatable value: no (Vulnrichment).SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph): Track at low, Attend at medium and Act at high mission impact.Exploitation active (CISA KEV listing) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (CISA Vulnrichment). From CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment): automatable and technical impact; the others come from the sources named beside them. EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE.Action: A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines at low, sooner than that at medium and as soon as possible at high mission impact. - EPSS PROB
- —
- EPSS %ILE
- —
- KEV
- ⚠ Exploited
SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph)Track at low, Attend at medium and Act at high mission impact.
A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines at low, sooner than that at medium and as soon as possible at high mission impact.
Exploitation active (CISA KEV listing) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (CISA Vulnrichment). From CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment): automatable and technical impact; the others come from the sources named beside them. EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE. Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it. CISA's table makes it high when Mission Prevalence is Essential — the vulnerable component "directly provides capabilities that constitute at least one MEF for at least one entity" (MEF: mission essential function) — or when Public Well-Being Impact is Irreversible: "multiple fatalities are likely", the cyber-physical system "is likely lost or destroyed", "extreme or serious externalities" are imposed on other parties, or social systems such as elections or the financial grid "are destabilized and potentially collapse". CISA's decision table
BOD 26-04 (CISA's remediation timeline, Table 1)3 days & forensic triage if the affected system is publicly exposed; 14 days if it is not.
In CISA KEV yes (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (CISA Vulnrichment). Whether your system is publicly exposed is yours to answer. BOD 26-04 binds US Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies; for anyone else it is CISA's published timeline, a reference rather than an obligation. The directive · how EchelonGraph applies it
CISA required action“Apply mitigations in accordance with vendor instructions, ensuring compliance with CISA’s BOD 26-04 Prioritizing Security Updates Based on Risk (see URL in Notes) guidance and CISA’s “Forensics Triage Requirements” (see URL in Notes). Follow applicable BOD 26-04 guidance for cloud services or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. Stakeholders are responsible for evaluating each asset's internet exposure and ensuring adherence to BOD 26-04 patching guidelines.”
Quoted verbatim from CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. CISA directs it at US federal civilian executive branch agencies under Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 26-04, which replaced BOD 22-01 on 10 June 2026; it is not EchelonGraph's advice. CISA's notes: https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/en-US/vulnerability/CVE-2026-96951 · https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-96951
Published
October 13, 2026
Last Modified
October 14, 2026
Advisory Details (2)
Auto-updated Oct 14, 2026⚠️ Actively exploited (CISA KEV). Patch available. Sources: microsoft, cisa.
CISA🔴 Active Exploitation
Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog | CISA
Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog | CISA. Listed in CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2026-96951Microsoft
Security Update Guide - Microsoft Security Response Center
https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-96951Vendor Advisories for CVE-2026-96951(2)
These vendors published their own advisory mentioning this CVE — often with vendor-specific remediation steps + affected product lists not in NVD.
Weakness Classification(1)
MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.
Data Freshness Timeline
(refreshed 16× in last 7d / 16× in last 30d)
Each row is a time one of our pipelines fetched, updated or re-scored this CVE. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. An arrow marks a change the record states ("CVSS v3 → 9.1"); EPSS and GHSA rows show the values recorded at that time, not what changed (EPSS values are rounded; hover one for the exact figures). Most recent first.
- 2026-10-14 04:26 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-14 04:26 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-hjr5-mppg-mjq7 · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 8.8
- 2026-10-14 04:06 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-14 04:05 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-hjr5-mppg-mjq7 · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 8.8
- 2026-10-13 22:31 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-hjr5-mppg-mjq7 · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 8.8
- 2026-10-13 21:48 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-13 21:48 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-hjr5-mppg-mjq7 · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 8.8
- 2026-10-13 20:52 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-13 20:26 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-13 20:26 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-13 19:50 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-13 19:50 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-13 19:21 UTCEG score recomputeFirst assessed: 9.0 CRITICAL
- 2026-10-13 19:21 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-13 19:19 UTCMITRE cvelistV5first tracked
- 2026-10-13 19:15 UTCCISA KEV update
Related CVEs(same CWE)
Frequently asked(6)
What is CVE-2026-96951?
CVE-2026-96951 is a critical-severity vulnerability; its CVE record was published on October 13, 2026. Improper neutralization of special elements used in a command ('command injection') in Windows Shell allows an unauthorized attacker to bypass a security feature over a network.
When was CVE-2026-96951 made public?
CVE-2026-96951 was made public on October 13, 2026: that is the date its CVE record's CNA, Microsoft Corporation, gives for when the vulnerability was made public. The CVE record itself was published on October 13, 2026. EchelonGraph's copy of the record carries a last-modified date of October 14, 2026; the record at its source may have been updated since.
Is CVE-2026-96951 actively exploited?
Yes. CISA added CVE-2026-96951 to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on October 13, 2026, affecting Microsoft Windows. KEV listing indicates confirmed exploitation in the wild; this CVE warrants immediate attention. A fix is available. Apply it.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-96951?
CVE-2026-96951 has a CVSS base score of 8.8 (a secondary CVSS source that NVD displays; NVD's own analysis pending). EchelonGraph synthesises NVD + CISA KEV + FIRST EPSS + GHSA into a combined EG score of 9.0 (CRITICAL).
Which products are affected by CVE-2026-96951?
CVE-2026-96951 affects Microsoft Windows.
How do I remediate CVE-2026-96951?
A fix for CVE-2026-96951 is available: update to the fixed version the vendor names in its advisory. The vendor advisories EchelonGraph has for CVE-2026-96951 are linked in the Vendor Advisories panel on this page.
Dependency Blast Radius
Explore the affected products and dependency analysis for CVE-2026-96951
Is Your Infrastructure Affected by CVE-2026-96951?
EchelonGraph automatically scans your cloud infrastructure and maps CVE exposure using blast radius analysis.