CVE-2026-97381

9.9Critical

Published 13 Oct 2026 · NVD status: Deferred · AI triage by gemini-3.8-flash

9.9Critical

Attack vector: Network
Complexity: Low
Privileges needed: Low
User interaction: None
Impact: Full C/I/A compromise
Weakness: CWE-346, CWE-393

Impact

Remote attackers can enumerate system details, install updates without consent, show dialogs, or reboot the host. They need a user to visit a malicious webpage using Internet Explorer.

Root cause

The ActiveX control's IsPermitted method defaults to returning S_OK instead of E_ACCESSDENIED when an unpermitted hostname is evaluated.

Affected systems

Legacy Update 1.12.0 through 1.13.1

CVSS v3.1 · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Fix & remediation

Upgrade to Legacy Update 1.13.2 or later. If patching immediately is not possible, disable the Legacy Update ActiveX control in Internet Explorer.

AI-suggested. Run it in staging first and check it against the vendor advisory. Why?

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NVD description

Legacy Update is a tool for activating and installing updates on legacy Windows PCs. Legacy Update 1.12.0 through 1.13.1 contains an origin validation error in the IsPermitted method of its ActiveX control. After successfully reading the hosting document's hostname, a hostname that is not on the permitted list falls through without setting E_ACCESSDENIED, causing IsPermitted to return S_OK. An attacker who induces a user to visit a malicious webpage in Internet Explorer can invoke the control to enumerate update and system information, install updates without consent, display dialogs, or restart the computer when a reboot is pending. This issue was fixed in Legacy Update 1.13.2.

References

Source: nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97381