# CVE-2026-20965: Windows Admin Center Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

> An authorized attacker can elevate privileges locally in Windows Admin Center due to improper cryptographic signature verification.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 13 Jan 2026
- **Updated:** 30 Jul 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-r498-r54r-pxqh

## What is CVE-2026-20965?

CVE-2026-20965 is a high-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Admin Center in Azure Portal, published on 13 Jan 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Improper verification of cryptographic signature in Windows Admin Center allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.

Weakness: CWE-347 (Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-20965?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Microsoft Windows Admin Center.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-20965?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-20965 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-20965 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-20965 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows Admin Center in Azure Portal

- [CVE-2026-62873](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-62873/): Microsoft 365 Admin Center Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2019-0813](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-0813/): Privilege escalation in Windows Admin Center (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-56196](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-56196/): Windows Admin Center (WAC) Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2026-56197](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-56197/): Windows Admin Center (WAC) Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2026-41086](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-41086/): Windows Admin Center in Azure Portal Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-20965 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-20965 is a high-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Admin Center in Azure Portal, published on 13 Jan 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-20965 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Microsoft Windows Admin Center in Azure Portal. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20965/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20965/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-20965
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-20965
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-20965

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20965/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.