Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessObtain authorized DNS access
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DeliverySend crafted DNS request
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ExploitTrigger out-of-bounds read in DNS Server
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ExecutionReceive leaked adjacent memory
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ImpactHarvest disclosed information
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Bounds checking, read limits
MITRE ATT&CK
1 technique across 1 tactic: Collection The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires the DNS Server role to be installed and running on an affected Windows build (e.g., Windows Server 2012/2012 R2/2016/2019/2022/2025 and Windows 10/11 ranges listed in EUVD-2026-100427) and network reachability to that DNS service. The CVSS PR:L and the description's 'authorized attacker' wording indicate the attacker must already possess some authorized/authenticated access to the service rather than being a fully anonymous remote actor - this authentication requirement is the primary limiting factor. No user interaction is needed (UI:N), and default configurations running the DNS role are affected once an authorized actor can send requests; impact is limited to information disclosure (no integrity or availability effect). |
| Impact | This is a moderate-severity information-disclosure flaw (CVSS 6.5) whose signals point to a genuine-but-bounded risk rather than a drop-everything emergency. The CVSS vector CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N confirms network-reachable, low-complexity exploitation, but PR:L means the attacker must already hold some authenticated/authorized access to the DNS Server - consistent with the description's phrase 'authorized attacker,' so the network vector and the authorization requirement are in agreement rather than conflicting. Impact is scoped to confidentiality only (C:H/I:N/A:N): an out-of-bounds read (CWE-125) can leak adjacent process memory but cannot modify data or crash the service by itself. No EPSS score, CISA KEV listing, or public proof-of-concept was provided in the input, so there is no public exploit identified at time of analysis and no evidence of active exploitation; the absence of these signals is not proof of safety but does argue against imminent mass exploitation. The one meaningful caveat is the privilege prerequisite: whether 'authorized' means an authenticated DNS management role versus any domain user is not clarified by the data and should be verified against the Microsoft advisory, because it materially changes who can reach this. Overall: a real priority for internet- or widely-reachable Windows DNS servers given C:H, but tempered by the authentication requirement and lack of exploitation evidence. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker who already holds authorized access to a Windows DNS Server sends specially crafted DNS queries or requests over the network that trigger an out-of-bounds read, causing the service to return bytes from adjacent memory. Because impact is confidentiality-only, the attacker uses this to leak sensitive process memory (potentially cached records, internal data, or memory that aids further attacks) rather than to alter records or take down the service. No public proof-of-concept was identified in the provided data, so practical exploitation difficulty is unverified. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 13, 2026
Information disclosure in the Microsoft Windows DNS Server role lets an authenticated, network-positioned attacker trigger an out-of-bounds read and retrieve memory contents over the network. The flaw (CWE-125) affects a wide span of Windows builds where the DNS Server role is installed and running - Windows Server 2012, 2012 R2, 2016, 2019, 2022 and 2025, plus Windows 10 (1607-22H2) and Windows 11 (23H2 through 26H2) - and requires only low-privilege access (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N with C:H/I:N/A:N, base 6.5) with no user interaction; impact is confined to confidentiality, with no integrity or availability effect. There is no public exploit code identified at time of analysis and the issue is not listed on CISA KEV, but Microsoft has published vendor fixes, so patching priority is driven by the sensitivity of data exposed by DNS infrastructure rather than by observed exploitation.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch is available through Microsoft's Security Update Guide (https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-97826); apply the monthly cumulative update that brings each host to or above the fixed build listed in the advisory - for example 10.0.20348.5761 (Server 2022), 10.0.17763.9376 (Server 2019), 10.0.14393.9612 (Server 2016), 6.3.9600.23470 (Server 2012 R2), 6.2.9200.26434 (Server 2012), 10.0.26100.33650 (Server 2025), 10.0.19044.7807 (Windows 10 21H2/22H2) and 10.0.22631.7652 / 10.0.26100.9711 / 10.0.26200.9711 / 10.0.28000.3231 / 10.0.26300.9711 for the corresponding Windows 11 releases. If immediate patching is not possible, treat the DNS role as a sensitive service and narrow the attack surface: block inbound UDP/TCP 53 from untrusted network segments with host or perimeter firewalls (this breaks legitimate external resolution paths through the server, so scope rules to client subnets), disable recursion or forwarder exposure on servers that only host authoritative zones, disable zone transfers to unauthorized secondaries (AXFR/IXFR restrictions eliminate one common crafted-request path at the cost of manual secondary synchronization), and ensure dynamic updates are restricted to secured/authenticated-only mode. Enabling DNS query logging and auditing on the role provides detection coverage for anomalous query patterns, and network segmentation of DNS servers reduces the number of principals that satisfy the PR:L authenticated-actor precondition.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 20 packages in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
The affected component is the DNS Server service built into Windows (the role enabled via 'Add Roles and Features' or the DNS Server feature in client editions), which listens on UDP/TCP port 53 and parses untrusted DNS queries, responses and zone-transfer messages. The root cause is CWE-125, an out-of-bounds read: while processing a request, the service reads past the end of an allocated buffer instead of validating a length or index field first, and the resulting adjacent memory can be reflected back to the caller in a DNS response, producing an information leak rather than code execution. Because the vulnerable state is reachable over the network with a single low-privilege/authenticated interaction (vector PR:L, UI:N, AV:N), the exposure is bounded by how much access an attacker already has to query the resolver, and by whatever sensitive content (cached records, keys material, pointer values useful for later memory-corruption chaining) can be read out of the over-read region. No integrity or availability primitive is present in the assessed vector, so this should be treated as a reconnaissance/credential-material disclosure risk rather than a direct compromise path.
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Network-facing DNS service (AV:N/AC:L), but 'authorized attacker' implies required privileges (PR:L); out-of-bounds read leaks memory so C:H with I:N/A:N and unchanged scope.
Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).
CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Out-of-bounds read in DNS Server allows an authorized attacker to disclose information over a network.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
A buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a memory buffer than it was allocated to hold, causing the excess data to spill into adjacent memory regions.
Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.
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EUVD-2026-100427
GHSA-cv7h-94fv-ghw7
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB