High severity · published Aug 27, 2026
CVE-2026-81572
Local Privilege Escalation in CodeMeter Runtime on Windows
7.8
CVSS
0.2%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
In CodeMeter Runtime from version 8.40 to (excluding) 8.41a and 9.00 to (excluding) 9.10, cmu.exe --create-io --file C: creates a predictable temporary file under C:\CM-Stick. The directory and
file paths are not properly checked for NTFS reparse points, such as junctions or symbolic links, before file
operations are performed. A local attacker can create a junction at the temporary file that points to an arbitrary
system path. Because CodeMeter Runtime runs with System privileges, this could allow arbitrary files to be deleted
with System privileges and potentially enable local privilege escalation.
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 7% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
CO
codemeter-runtime · wibu-systems-ag
8.40 before 8.41a; 9.00 before 9.10 · source: vendor
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-81572
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-81572
cdn.wibu.com
https://cdn.wibu.com/fileadmin/wibu_downloads/security_advisories/AdvisoryWIBU-103081.pdf
shelltrail.com
https://shelltrail.com/research/local-privilege-escalation-to-system-in-wibu-systems-codemeter-application
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