CVE-2026-44805
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 · uneditedUse after free in Windows Network Controller (NC) Host Agent allows an authorized attacker to deny service 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 confidenceA use-after-free vulnerability exists in the Windows Network Controller (NC) Host Agent that allows an authorized attacker to cause a denial of service condition locally through memory corruption.
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< 10.0.17763.8880< 10.0.20348.5256< 10.0.26100.32995CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check Windows Server versionRun 'systeminfo' or 'winver' to obtain the full OS version and build number (e.g., 10.0.17763.xxxx)Affected if The installed version is below 10.0.17763.8880 for Server 2019, below 10.0.20348.5256 for Server 2022, or below 10.0.26100.32995 for Server 2025
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Verify Network Controller role is installedRun 'Get-WindowsFeature -Name NetworkController' in PowerShell with admin rights, or use 'dism /online /get-features /featurename:NetworkController'Affected if The Network Controller role or feature is shown as Installed (the vulnerability only affects systems with this role enabled)
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Confirm Network Controller Host Agent is runningRun 'Get-Service -Name NcHostAgent' in PowerShell, or check for the process 'NCHostAgent.exe' in Task Manager under Services tabAffected if The NCHostAgent service is present and running on the system
A system is affected if it runs a vulnerable Windows Server version (2019/2022/2025) AND has the Network Controller role installed with the Host Agent component present.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped10.0.17763.888010.0.20348.525610.0.26100.32995
Apply Microsoft security patches for Windows Network Controller when available; prioritize testing in staging before production deployment.
Windows Server 2019: Build 10.0.17763.8880+ | Windows Server 2022: Build 10.0.20348.5256+ | Windows Server 2025: Build 10.0.26100.32995+
- Identify the current Windows Server version by running 'winver' or 'systeminfo' in Command Prompt
- Open Windows Update by running 'ms-settings:windowsupdate' or access via Control Panel
- Check for and install the latest Microsoft security updates, specifically looking for the update addressing CVE-2026-44805
- After installation, restart the Windows Server system as prompted to complete the patch deployment
- Verify the patch was successfully applied by checking the installed updates list or running 'systeminfo' to confirm the OS build number matches or exceeds the fixed version for your server edition
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,544.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-44805 — 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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-44805 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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