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Windows Server 2008Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2026-0386

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-01-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.14393.8783 / 10.0.17763.8276 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Improper access control in Windows Deployment Services allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code over an adjacent network.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

Improper access control in Windows Deployment Services (WDS) allows an unauthenticated attacker on an adjacent network to execute arbitrary code. The vulnerability stems from insufficient authorization checks within the WDS component, enabling attackers with local network access to potentially compromise the WDS server and execute malicious code.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates for Windows Deployment Services when available; if WDS is not required, disable the service; implement network segmentation to restrict adjacent network access to WDS servers.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Windows Server 2008Operating system
Affected:all versions= r2
Windows Server 2012Operating system
Affected:all versions= r2
Windows Server 2016Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.14393.8783
Windows Server 2019Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.17763.8276
Windows Server 2022Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.20348.4648
Windows Server 2022 23h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.25398.2092
Windows Server 2025Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.26100.32230

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Adjacent
Complexity
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check Windows Server version
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to identify the installed Windows Server version and build number
    Affected if Version is Windows Server 2008/2008 R2 (all), 2012/2012 R2 (all), 2016 < 10.0.14393.8783, 2019 < 10.0.17763.8276, 2022 < 10.0.20348.4648, 2022 23h2 < 10.0.25398.2092, or 2025 < 10.0.26100.32230
  2. Verify WDS is installed
    Run 'Get-WindowsFeature -Name WDS-Deployment' in PowerShell with admin rights, or check Programs and Features for Windows Deployment Services
    Affected if WDS feature is installed on the server
  3. Confirm WDS service is running
    Run 'Get-Service -Name WdsService' or 'sc query WdsService' to check if the Windows Deployment Service is started
    Affected if The WDS service state shows as Running
  4. Check WDS listener ports
    Run 'netstat -ano | findstr ":5045"' or use 'Get-NetTCPConnection -LocalPort 5045' to verify WDS is listening on the network
    Affected if Port 5045 (or WDS UDP port 67) is listening on external adapters, indicating network exposure

The server is affected if it runs an affected Windows Server version, has WDS installed with the service running, and the service is exposed to the adjacent network.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 10.0.14393.8783 / 10.0.17763.8276 / 10.0.20348.4648 or later
Fixed in 10.0.14393.878310.0.17763.827610.0.20348.4648
Interim mitigation

Apply Microsoft security updates for Windows Deployment Services when available; if WDS is not required, disable the service; implement network segmentation to restrict adjacent network access to WDS servers.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Apply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2026-0386 to reach the fixed build versions: 10.0.14393.8783 (Server 2016), 10.0.17763.8276 (Server 2019), 10.0.20348.4648 (Server 2022), 10.0.25398.2092 (Server 2022 23h2), or 10.0.26100.32230 (Server 2025)

  1. 1. Identify the current build version of your Windows Server by running 'winver' or 'systeminfo' in Command Prompt
  2. 2. Determine which Windows Server version you are running (2016, 2019, 2022, 2022 23h2, or 2025)
  3. 3. Apply the appropriate Windows Security update that addresses CVE-2026-0386. For Windows Server 2016, update to build 10.0.14393.8783 or later. For Windows Server 2019, update to build 10.0.17763.8276 or later. For Windows Server 2022, update to build 10.0.20348.4648 or later. For Windows Server 2022 23h2, update to build 10.0.25398.2092 or later. For Windows Server 2025, update to build 10.0.26
  4. 4. Restart the server after applying the update
  5. 5. Verify the update was successful by checking the installed updates via 'Get-HotFix' in PowerShell or checking Windows Update history
  6. 6. If Windows Deployment Services is not required, consider disabling it via Server Manager to reduce attack surface
Caveat Standard Windows cumulative update apply-without-reboot guidance applies; ensure backup before updates in production environments

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Windows Server 2008 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,680
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-0386 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data