Memory leak in Microsoft Windows and Windows Server - CVE-2026-96176
Published: November 11, 2026
Vulnerability identifier: #VU165769
CSH Severity: Medium
CVSS v4: 8.7 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]
CVE-ID: CVE-2026-96176
CWE-ID: CWE-401
Exploitation vector: Remote access
Exploit availability:
No public exploit available
Vulnerability details
The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to cause a denial of service.
The vulnerability exists due to missing release of memory after its effective lifetime in Windows DNS when handling network traffic. A remote attacker can trigger memory leaks through network traffic to exhaust available memory and cause a denial of service.
Affected software
Microsoft Windows
Windows Server
Windows Server
How to mitigate CVE-2026-96176
Install security update from vendor's website.
Microsoft Windows - addressed in versions 11 23H2 10.0.22631.7711, 11 24H2 10.0.26100.9911, 11 24H2 10.0.26100.9974, 11 25H2 10.0.26200.9911, 11 25H2 10.0.26200.9974, 11 26H1 10.0.28000.3501
Windows Server - addressed in versions 2025 10.0.26100.33730, 2025 10.0.26100.33822
Windows Server - addressed in versions 2025 10.0.26100.33730, 2025 10.0.26100.33822