Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2026-15475 is a local access-control flaw in MiniTool Partition Wizard’s signed Windows kernel driver, pwdrvio.sys. An attacker already on a system with low privileges could potentially abuse the driver to gain limited confidentiality, integrity, or availability impact. Public exploit material is reported, but CISA KEV is not listed in the provided sources.
Executive priority
Treat as a near-term endpoint hygiene issue, especially on administrator or IT support machines. It is not internet-exploitable by itself, but public exploit availability increases risk if an attacker already has local foothold.
Technical view
The issue affects MiniTool Partition Wizard up to 13.6 in the signed kernel driver component pwdrvio.sys. VulDB describes improper access controls tied to an unknown function, mapped to CWE-266 and CWE-284. CVSS 3.1 is 5.3 with local attack vector, low complexity, low privileges required, and no user interaction.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on Windows endpoints or admin workstations where MiniTool Partition Wizard versions up to 13.6 are installed, or where pwdrvio.sys remains present. This is not a remote-entry vulnerability; it requires local access first.
Exploitation context
The source bundle states exploit material is publicly available and could be used for attacks. However, KEV is false, and no provided source confirms active exploitation in the wild. The main risk is post-compromise privilege misuse through a signed kernel driver.
Researcher notes
There is a source inconsistency: the affected list includes 13.9, while the description says upgrading to 13.9 fixes the issue. Prefer the explicit remediation statement unless vendor history says otherwise. Do not assume active exploitation without additional evidence.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade MiniTool Partition Wizard to version 13.9 per the advisory.
- Inventory endpoints for MiniTool Partition Wizard and pwdrvio.sys.
- Remove unused MiniTool Partition Wizard installations where business need is absent.
- Monitor vendor guidance for any additional driver cleanup or hardening instructions.
Validation and detection
- Confirm installed MiniTool Partition Wizard versions on managed endpoints.
- Check whether pwdrvio.sys is present after upgrade or removal.
- Verify systems are upgraded beyond affected versions described by the advisory.
- Review EDR telemetry for unusual local driver access involving pwdrvio.sys.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-266: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCWE-284: Authorization and privilege behavior lookup
Authorization weaknesses can support privilege escalation and valid-account review, depending on exploit path. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2026-15475 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 5.3 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L/E:P/RL:O/RC:C
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
4 official scoresWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L/E:P/RL:O/RC:C1.83.4VulDBCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L/E:P/RL:O/RC:C1.83.4VulDBCVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P——VulDBAV:L/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P/E:POC/RL:OF/RC:C3.16.4VulDBVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 4.0 score
4.8MediumVector: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P
Base CVSS 3.1 score
5.3MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L/E:P/RL:O/RC:C
Base CVSS 3.0 score
5.3MediumVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L/E:P/RL:O/RC:C
Base CVSS 2.0 score
4.3MediumVector: AV:L/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P/E:POC/RL:OF/RC:C
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- Source timelineVulDB
Advisory disclosed
- Source timelineVulDB
VulDB entry created
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- Source timelineVulDB
VulDB entry last update
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- VDB-377780 | MiniTool Partition Wizard Signed Kernel Driver pwdrvio.sys access controlCVE reference, VulDB · vdb-entry
- VDB-377780 | CTI Indicators (IOB, IOC, TTP, IOA)CVE reference, VulDB · signature, permissions-required
- CVE-2026-15475 | CVE Analysis and ReportCVE reference, VulDB · third-party-advisory
- Submit #833842 | MiniTool MiniTool Partition Wizard 13.6 Local Privilege EscapationCVE reference, VulDB · third-party-advisory
- https://winslow1984.com/books/cve-collection/page/minitool-partition-wizard-kernel-driver-pwdrviosys-local-privilege-escalationCVE reference, VulDB · exploit
- https://www.minitool.com/partition-manager/upgrade-history.htmlCVE reference, VulDB · patch
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Incorrect Privilege Assignment
Incorrect Privilege Assignment represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.
Improper Access Control
Improper Access Control represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.