CVE•Published 2026-05-20•Modified 2026-05-20•3 articles on news•6 live references•NVD data

CVE-2026-41091Microsoft · Malware_protection_engine

Vulnerability data via NVD (ingested)

CVSS v3.1

7.8

HIGH

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

EPSS percentile

—

Weaknesses (CWE)

CWE-59Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')

Description

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

Timeline

Published 2026-05-20

Modified 2026-05-20

External references

NVD MITRE Exploit-DB GitHub PoC Sploitus VulnCheck

Search for exposed instances

Shodan + Censys queries derived from NVD's CPE data. The vuln tag catches assets Shodan has explicitly linked to this CVE; the product / banner fingerprints find exposed instances even when the vuln tag was never applied (which is common).

Shodan · vuln tag0 hosts

vuln:CVE-2026-41091

Hosts Shodan has explicitly fingerprinted as vulnerable.

Shodan · product

product:"Microsoft Malware Protection Engine"

All exposed Microsoft Malware Protection Engine instances — cross-reference with the CVE's affected-version range.

Shodan · banner/body mention

http.html:"Malware Protection Engine"

HTTP body or banner mentions "Malware Protection Engine" — catches deploys Shodan didn't identify as a product.

More intel sources (5)

Shodan report

vuln:CVE-2026-41091

Country / ASN / product breakdown for the vuln query.

Censys

vulnerabilities.cve_id: CVE-2026-41091

Censys host search filtered to this CVE id.

grep.app

CVE-2026-41091

Public source-code mentions — fast PoC discovery.

GitHub code

CVE-2026-41091

GitHub code search for direct mentions.

Google dork

"CVE-2026-41091" exploit -site:nvd.nist.gov

Write-ups and news, NVD excluded.

Known PoCs on GitHub (8)

CVE-2026-410918 repos

nomi-sec/PoC-in-GitHubunknown

📡 PoC auto collect from GitHub. ⚠️ Be careful Malware.

★ 7,841·updated 1d ago

Ostorlab/KEVunknown

Ostorlab KEV: One-command to detect most remotely known exploitable vulnerabilities. Sourced from CISA KEV, Google's Tsunami, Ostorlab's Asteroid and Bug Bounty programs.

★ 611·updated 3mo ago

v-p-b/avpwnunknown

List of real-world threats against endpoint protection software

★ 218·updated 1w ago

ctrsploit/ctrsploitC

A penetration toolkit for container environment

★ 150·updated 6d ago

elbelicojackson-hue/haking-code-TypeScript

★ 70·updated 3w ago

DarkFunct/TK-CVE-RepoPython

TK-CVE-Repo

★ 51·updated 1w ago

0xBlackash/CVE-2026-41091C++

CVE-2026-41091

★ 6·updated 3w ago

Doseuser/DoseGhostReservePython

ZeroDay On Windows Defender

★ 2·updated 1w ago