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Paint RCE fix is in the Microsoft Store, not Windows Update
The Hacker News said a fix for CVE-2026-83844 in Windows Paint is in the Microsoft Store as build 11.2609.401.0 and is not delivered through Windows Update.
A remote code execution flaw in Windows Paint, tracked as CVE-2026-83844, now has a fix in the Microsoft Store, but the patch is not delivered through Windows Update, The Hacker News reported Friday1.
The outlet said the fixed Paint build is 11.2609.401.0, matching the version named in Microsoft's security advisory, and that this build was the newest Store offering in all 10 countries it checked1. Microsoft rates the issue Important, with a CVSS score of 8.1, and describes an out-of-bounds read that could let an attacker run code over a network1. The company said a successful attack would require a deep understanding of the target system and that the flaw was not known to be exploited or publicly disclosed when it published the issue on Oct. 131.
The advisory says an attacker could send a specially crafted packet to an affected service over the network, with no sign-in and no user assistance, but does not name the service, The Hacker News said1. The outlet said the flaw was not in the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog when it checked1.
Brian Vitko of RFF, a device-management software maker, found earlier this week that Store offerings in six countries still showed 11.2605.81.0, a build without the fix, the report said1. His test virtual machine later moved to the fixed build through Store auto-update; how quickly other PCs will get the build is not yet clear1.
The CVE record and the National Vulnerability Database still list Paint as affected only below 11.2605.91.0, so a scanner using those records could treat earlier builds as patched, The Hacker News said1. As recently as last week the advisory itself listed 11.2605.91.0 as the fixed build, according to a Microsoft Q&A post cited by the outlet, while the advisory revision history still showed only the Oct. 13 entry1.
Paint is installed per user, and Windows can keep a provisioned copy for new accounts, so checking only the signed-in user can miss older copies1. The advisory lists no workaround; Vitko suggested removing Paint where it is unused, a step he did not test, the report said1.
