7.0
HIGH CVSS 4.0
CVE-2026-54000
osquery: Heap buffer overflow in `getProcessCurrentDirectory()` via `processes` table (Windows)
Description

osquery is a SQL powered operating system instrumentation, monitoring, and analytics framework. Prior to 5.23.1, on Windows, a local unprivileged attacker can cause a heap buffer out-of-bounds write if there is a query of the processes table targeting a maliciously crafted process, due to unchecked PEB string lengths in process command-line and current-directory reads. If exploited successfully, this could allow a potential local privilege escalation from standard user to SYSTEM. This issue is fixed in version 5.23.1.

INFO

Published Date :

July 10, 2026, 4:16 p.m.

Last Modified :

July 10, 2026, 5:44 p.m.

Remotely Exploit :

No
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2026-54000 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

No affected product recoded yet

CVSS Scores
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System is a standardized framework for assessing the severity of vulnerabilities in software and systems. We collect and displays CVSS scores from various sources for each CVE.
Score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Score Impact Score Source
CVSS 4.0 HIGH [email protected]
Solution
Update osquery to version 5.23.1 to fix a heap buffer out-of-bounds write vulnerability.
  • Update osquery to version 5.23.1.
  • Verify the update installation.
  • Monitor system for unexpected behavior.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-54000 is associated with the following CWEs:

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-54000 weaknesses.

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2026-54000 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2026-54000 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

  • New CVE Received by [email protected]

    Jul. 10, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Affected [{'vendor': 'osquery', 'product': 'osquery', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '< 5.23.1'}]}]
    Added Description osquery is a SQL powered operating system instrumentation, monitoring, and analytics framework. Prior to 5.23.1, on Windows, a local unprivileged attacker can cause a heap buffer out-of-bounds write if there is a query of the processes table targeting a maliciously crafted process, due to unchecked PEB string lengths in process command-line and current-directory reads. If exploited successfully, this could allow a potential local privilege escalation from standard user to SYSTEM. This issue is fixed in version 5.23.1.
    Added CVSS V4.0 AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
    Added CWE CWE-122
    Added Reference https://github.com/osquery/osquery/commit/3d457c412eb0c986b0c37d8903edae8bc9f9e246
    Added Reference https://github.com/osquery/osquery/pull/8934
    Added Reference https://github.com/osquery/osquery/releases/tag/5.23.1
    Added Reference https://github.com/osquery/osquery/security/advisories/GHSA-4r78-6hg6-33gg
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.