Exploitation of Microsoft Defender Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability (CVE-2026-50656)

Exploitation of Microsoft Defender Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability (CVE-2026-50656)

Introduction In modern operating systems, Endpoint Security components such as antivirus engines and EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response) agents operate close to the kernel layer to intercept malicious behavior. Within the Microsoft Windows ecosystem, Microsoft Defender serves as the native defense mechanism, inherently executing its tasks with the highest possible privilege level: NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM. While this design is mandatory for system-wide remediation, any architectural or