High severity · published Aug 5, 2026
CVE-2026-18485
Local Privilege Escalation in NI-PAL
7.8
CVSS
0.2%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
There is a local privilege escalation vulnerability recently discovered in the NI-PAL kernel driver. This may allow a local, authenticated user to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code. This vulnerability affects NI-PAL 26.3.1 and prior versions running on Microsoft Windows.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.2% · higher than 6% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
NI
NI-PAL · NI
through 26.3.1 · source: vendor
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-18485
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-18485
www.ni.com
https://www.ni.com/en/support/security/available-critical-and-security-updates-for-ni-software/2026/local-privilege-escalation-in-ni-pal.html
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