CVE-2026-41091

Q: How do I fix CVE-2026-41091?

Upgrade malware protection engine to 1.1.26040.8 or later.

Q: Is CVE-2026-41091 being actively exploited?

Yes. CVE-2026-41091 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which means exploitation has been observed in the wild. US federal agencies were required to remediate it by 2026-06-03. Treat it as a priority whatever its CVSS score says.

Q: How severe is CVE-2026-41091?

CVE-2026-41091 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.8, rated important. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.

Q: What does CVE-2026-41091 affect?

Published advisories record a fix for malware protection engine (NVD). Only products with a sourced advisory are listed, so treat this as what we can cite rather than a complete inventory.

HIGHCISA KEVEPSS 95th pctl

7.8

CVSS v3

NVD

Description

Improper link resolution before file access ('link following') in Microsoft Defender allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.

CWE-59Link Following

How to fix

Remediation Available

malware protection engineNVD

Affected:>= 1.1.26030.3008, < 1.1.26040.8Fixed in:1.1.26040.8CVE-2026-41091derived from NVD

TridentStack Control can deploy fixes like this automatically across your Windows, macOS, and Linux fleet. See how it works

Remediation is compiled from vendor and distribution security advisories. Always confirm against the linked source for your exact version and platform.

CVSS v3 Vector

Exploitability

Attack VectorLocal

Attack ComplexityLow

Privileges RequiredLow

User InteractionNone

ScopeUnchanged

Impact

ConfidentialityHigh

IntegrityHigh

AvailabilityHigh

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

Exploit Intelligence

9.64%probability of exploitation in 30 days

95thpercentile

Very high risk: more likely to be exploited than 95% of all known CVEs.

Known Exploited Vulnerability (CISA KEV)

Remediation due: 2026-06-03

References

Vendor Advisory1

msrc.microsoft.com

Third-Party Advisory1

cisa.gov

Related Vulnerabilities

Other CWE-59 (Link Following) vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all

CVE	Severity	CVSS	EPSS	Exploited	Fix
CVE-2022-30333	High	7.5	99%	KEV + Ransom	Fix
CVE-2021-21300	High	8.0	89%	-	Fix
CVE-2021-32610	High	7.1	73%	-	Fix
CVE-2020-36193	High	7.5	71%	KEV	Fix
CVE-2023-40028	Medium	4.9	58%	-	Fix
CVE-2023-36874	High	7.8	43%	KEV	Fix

Common questions

How do I fix CVE-2026-41091?

Upgrade malware protection engine to 1.1.26040.8 or later.

Is CVE-2026-41091 being actively exploited?

Yes. CVE-2026-41091 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which means exploitation has been observed in the wild. US federal agencies were required to remediate it by 2026-06-03. Treat it as a priority whatever its CVSS score says.

How severe is CVE-2026-41091?

CVE-2026-41091 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.8, rated important. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.

What does CVE-2026-41091 affect?

Published advisories record a fix for malware protection engine (NVD). Only products with a sourced advisory are listed, so treat this as what we can cite rather than a complete inventory.

Embed a live status badge for CVE-2026-41091

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This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2026-07-24.