Is CVE-2026-96951 actively exploited?

Yes. Previdian tracks CVE-2026-96951 as a known exploited vulnerability. Confidence is confirmed.

What exploitation activity has Previdian observed?

Previdian has not yet recorded sensor-observed exploitation attempts for CVE-2026-96951. Our sensors continue to monitor for activity targeting this CVE.

Which versions are affected?

CVE-2026-96951 affects Microsoft Outlook.com and 19 other products. Previdian lists 20 version rows; examples include 1.0.0 to < 20260925.100, 10.0.14393.0 to < 10.0.14393.9612, and 10.0.17763.0 to < 10.0.17763.9376.

Yes. CVE-2026-96951 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog. Added to Previdian from a trusted third-party report 1 hour before CISA listed it.

Vulnerability report

Exploited in the wild Confirmed confidence In CISA KEV

CVE-2026-96951

Q: What is CVE-2026-96951?

CVE-2026-96951 is an unauthenticated Windows Shell Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability affecting Microsoft Outlook.com and 19 other products. 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.

Q: How should organizations remediate it?

Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.

Q: Is it in CISA KEV?

Yes. CVE-2026-96951 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog. Added to Previdian from a trusted third-party report 1 hour before CISA listed it.

Windows Shell Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability

Microsoft / Outlook.com · affected before 20260925.100

Watch CVE-2026-96951 Browse KEV feed

Severity: CVSS 8.8 · High
Confidence: Confirmed
Exploit status: Exploited in the wild
EPSS: —
First observed: —
Last observed: —

Decision summary

What security teams need to know first

Direct answers before the deeper technical record.

What it is

CVE-2026-96951 is an unauthenticated Windows Shell Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability affecting Microsoft Outlook.com and 19 other products. Improper neutralization of special elements used in a command ('command...

Is it exploited?

Yes. Previdian tracks this CVE as a known exploited vulnerability. Confidence is confirmed. Listed in CISA KEV. Also confirmed by third-party sources.

Who is affected?

Microsoft / Outlook.com affected before 20260925.100.

What should we do?

Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.

Overview

Windows Shell Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability

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.

Vendor Product Affected Status

Microsoft Affected

Outlook.com

Before 20260925.100

Affected

Microsoft Affected

Windows 10 Version 1607

Before 10.0.14393.9612

Affected

Microsoft Affected

Windows 10 Version 1809

Before 10.0.17763.9376

Affected

Microsoft Affected

Windows 10 Version 21H2

Before 10.0.19044.7807

Affected

Microsoft Affected

Windows 10 Version 22H2

Before 10.0.19044.7807

Affected

Microsoft Affected

Windows 11 version 23H2

Before 10.0.22631.7652

Affected

Microsoft Affected

Windows 11 Version 23H2

Before 10.0.22631.7652

Affected

Microsoft Affected

Windows 11 Version 24H2

Before 10.0.26100.9711

Affected

Microsoft Affected

Windows 11 Version 25H2

Before 10.0.26200.9711

Affected

Microsoft Affected

Windows 11 version 26H1

Before 10.0.28000.3231

Affected

Microsoft Affected

Windows 11 Version 26H2

Before 10.0.26300.9711

Affected

Microsoft Affected

Windows Server 2012 R2

Before 6.3.9600.23470

Affected

Microsoft Affected

Windows Server 2012 R2 (Server Core installation)

Before 6.3.9600.23470

Affected

Microsoft Affected

Windows Server 2016

Before 10.0.14393.9612

Affected

Microsoft Affected

Windows Server 2016 (Server Core installation)

Before 10.0.14393.9612

Affected

Microsoft Affected

Windows Server 2019

Before 10.0.17763.9376

Affected

Microsoft Affected

Windows Server 2019 (Server Core installation)

Before 10.0.17763.9376

Affected

Microsoft Affected

Windows Server 2022

Before 10.0.20348.5761

Affected

Microsoft Affected

Windows Server 2025

Before 10.0.26100.33650

Affected

Microsoft Affected

Windows Server 2025 (Server Core installation)

Before 10.0.26100.33650

Affected

View vendor advisory

Published: 13 Oct 2026
Exploitation Reported: 13 Oct 2026
Attack vector: Remote
Complexity: Low
Privileges: None
User interaction: Required

CVE References

CVE Record CVE.org · CVE Record https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-96951
Windows Shell Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability msrc.microsoft.com · Vendor Advisory https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-96951

Exploitation evidence

Why Previdian marks this CVE as exploited

Third-party attestation and first-party sensor observation are shown separately so teams can judge the evidence chain.

Exploited in the wild

Microsoft CVRF

Recorded 13 Oct 2026

A trusted third party reported exploitation.

Known exploited vulnerability sources

Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the Previdian Pro API.

Learn about Pro API access

Source	Added
Microsoft CVRF First	2026-10-13 07:00 UTC
CISA	2026-10-13 19:31 UTC
CyberInsider	2026-10-13 21:21 UTC
The Hacker News	2026-10-14 05:30 UTC

Detection

Operational artifacts and observed signals

Make the evidence actionable in scanner, SOC, and edge-control workflows.

Observed signals

Request targets
User-Agents
Callback hosts: 0; 0; 0

Request targets and User-Agents available in Pro. Callback host details available in Enterprise.

Scanner coverage

No scanner integrations recorded yet.

Virtual patch status

No Previdian virtual patch is currently available. Future rules ship for ModSecurity, Cloudflare, and AWS WAF.

Learn about virtual patches →

No detection artifacts or sensor request patterns are available for this CVE yet.

Check back as sensor telemetry and scanner integrations are updated.

Risk and context

Severity, weaknesses, and research context

CVSS v3.1

8.8 High

Potential damage if exploited. Separate from whether attackers are using it.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:F/RL:O/RC:C

EPSS

—

Estimated chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Previdian's warning comes from evidence, not this score.

Weaknesses

Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection') CWE-77

Recent mention · The Hacker News

14 Oct 2026

Microsoft Patches Record 1,413 Flaws, Including Exploited Windows Shell Bug

Read full advisory

All Mentions

Recent mention · The Hacker News

Microsoft Patches Record 1,413 Flaws, Including Exploited Windows Shell Bug

The Hacker News · 14 Oct 2026

Ravie LakshmananOct 14, 2026Vulnerability / Endpoint Security Microsoft on Tuesday shattered its own Patch Tuesday record by shipping patches for a whopping 1,413 vulnerabilities, including one that it said has come under active exploitation. These include 1,102 flaws in Windows, 134 in Office, 61 in Developer Tools, 36 in SharePoint Server, and 22 in SQL Server. Of these, more than 670 relate to privilege escalation, followed by over 300 remote code execution flaws and 250 information disclosure flaws. Over 70 flaws are rated Critical in severity. "Hundreds of CVEs in a single release...

Recent mention · CyberInsider

Windows 11 October updates fix zero-day, VPN failures, and black screens

CyberInsider · 13 Oct 2026

Microsoft released its October 2026 Patch Tuesday updates for Windows 11, addressing 1,413 vulnerabilities. The update addresses an actively exploited Windows Shell vulnerability, along with VPN connection failures, desktop black screens, and gaming mouse stutter. The October 13 release also delivers the final monthly security update for Windows 11 24H2 Home and Pro, whose users … The post Windows 11 October updates fix zero-day, VPN failures, and black screens appeared first on CyberInsider.

Recent mention · NCSC Security Advisories

NCSC-2026-0422 [1.00] [M/H] Kwetsbaarheden verholpen in Microsoft Office

NCSC Security Advisories · 13 Oct 2026

Microsoft heeft xxx kwetsbaarheden verholpen in diverse Office producten, zoals Word, Excel, Access, Outlook, Visio, Sharepoint en PowerPoint, maar ook subcomponenten als Shell, Azure Key Vault en Click-to-Run. Een kwaadwillende kan de kwetsbaarheden misbruiken om een Denial-of-Service te veroorzaken, zich verhoogde rechten toe te kennen, willekeurige code uit te voeren en toegang te krijgen tot gevoelige informatie in de context van het slachtoffer. Voor succesvol misbruik moet de kwaadwillende het slachtoffer misleiden een malafide bestand te openen of link te volgen. Van de...

Timeline

From disclosure to observed exploitation

14 Oct 2026
05:30 UTC

KEV confirmed by The Hacker News

Exploitation attested by an external source
13 Oct 2026
21:21 UTC

KEV confirmed by CyberInsider

Exploitation attested by an external source
13 Oct 2026
19:31 UTC

Added to CISA KEV

Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
13 Oct 2026
19:01 UTC

CVE published

Vulnerability disclosed publicly
13 Oct 2026
07:00 UTC

Added to Previdian KEV Feed

High-confidence, third-party attested exploitation
23 Sep 2026
20:35 UTC

CVE ID reserved

Identifier reserved by the CNA

Pro API

Automate this intelligence

Confidence, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.

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Evidence confidence and provenance
First-party sensor telemetry
PoC and scanner references
Affected versions and enrichment
Automation-ready JSON delivery

GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2026-96951

Free JSON includes basic KEV fields

{
  "cve_id": "CVE-2026-96951",
  "confidence": "Confirmed",
  "cvss_score": 8.8,
  "cvss_estimated": false,
  "epss_score": null,
  "exploit_status": {
    "exploited_in_the_wild": true,
    "active_exploitation_observed": false
  },
  "sensor_telemetry": { "attempts": 0, "sensors": 0 }
}

CVE-2026-96951

Windows Shell Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability

Tags

CVE References

Exploited in the wild

Known exploited vulnerability sources

Observed signals

Scanner coverage

Virtual patch status

Weaknesses

Microsoft Patches Record 1,413 Flaws, Including Exploited Windows Shell Bug

All Mentions

KEV confirmed by The Hacker News

KEV confirmed by CyberInsider

Added to CISA KEV

CVE published

Added to Previdian KEV Feed

CVE ID reserved

Automate this intelligence