Windows Server 2012Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2026-41095

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.14393.9140 / 10.0.17763.8755 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Use after free in Data Deduplication allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.

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

A use-after-free vulnerability exists in the Data Deduplication feature (likely Windows Server) that allows an authenticated local attacker to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges. The vulnerability involves improper memory management where memory is accessed after it has been freed, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution.

MitigationApply the relevant Microsoft security patch for Data Deduplication when released. Until then, limit local administrative access and monitor for suspicious processes.

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 2012Operating system
Affected:= r2
Windows Server 2016Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.14393.9140
Windows Server 2019Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.17763.8755
Windows Server 2022Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.20348.5074
Windows Server 2022 23h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.25398.2330
Windows Server 2025Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.26100.32772

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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. Confirm Data Deduplication feature is installed
    Run PowerShell command: Get-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName *Dedup* | Select-Object FeatureName, State
    Affected if The FeatureName shows DataDeduplication and State is Enabled
  2. Check Windows Server version and build number
    Run PowerShell command: $os = Get-CimInstance Win32_OperatingSystem; Write-Output "Version: $($os.Version)" ; Write-Output "Build: $($os.BuildNumber)"
    Affected if The version or build number falls within the affected ranges: Server 2016 < 14393.9140, Server 2019 < 17763.8755, Server 2022 < 20348.5074, Server 2022 23h2 < 25398.2330, Server 2025 < 26100.32772, or is Server 2012 R2
  3. Verify Data Deduplication service exists and check its state
    Run PowerShell command: Get-Service -Name Ddpsvc -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select-Object Name, Status, StartType
    Affected if The service Ddpsvc exists and is running (vulnerable attack surface requires the feature to be enabled)
  4. Confirm deduplication volume configuration
    Run PowerShell command: Get-DedupVolume -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select-Object Volume, Enabled, DeduplicationRate
    Affected if Any volume shows Enabled equals True (indicates deduplication is actively processing data and the vulnerable code path is in use)

The environment is affected if Data Deduplication is enabled on a Windows Server version that is older than the fixed build numbers listed, or if running Windows Server 2012 R2.

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 10.0.14393.9140 / 10.0.17763.8755 / 10.0.20348.5074 or later
Fixed in 10.0.14393.914010.0.17763.875510.0.20348.5074
Interim mitigation

Apply the relevant Microsoft security patch for Data Deduplication when released. Until then, limit local administrative access and monitor for suspicious processes.

Recommended fix High confidence

Windows Server 2016 to build 10.0.14393.9140+ | Windows Server 2019 to build 10.0.17763.8755+ | Windows Server 2022 to build 10.0.20348.5074+ | Windows Server 2022 23h2 to build 10.0.25398.2330+ | Windows Server 2025 to build 10.0.26100.32772+

  1. Identify the Windows Server version currently installed by running 'winver' or 'systeminfo' in Command Prompt
  2. Determine which Data Deduplication update is required for your Windows Server version from Microsoft Security Response Center (msrc.microsoft.com)
  3. For Windows Server 2016: Apply update to reach build 10.0.14393.9140 or later
  4. For Windows Server 2019: Apply update to reach build 10.0.17763.8755 or later
  5. For Windows Server 2022: Apply update to reach build 10.0.20348.5074 or later
  6. For Windows Server 2022 23h2: Apply update to reach build 10.0.25398.2330 or later
  7. For Windows Server 2025: Apply update to reach build 10.0.26100.32772 or later
  8. Verify successful patching by checking the build version again after updates are applied
Caveat Standard Windows update apply with minimal risk; Data Deduplication feature should continue functioning normally after patching

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

Fix this in Windows Server 2012 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,380
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-41095 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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-2026-41095 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