Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessAuthenticate with low-privilege SQL credentials
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ExploitSend crafted serialized payload over network
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ExecutionTrigger unsafe deserialization (CWE-502)
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ImpactExecute arbitrary code on server
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A08:2025 - Software or Data Integrity Failures
ASVS 5.0
V1 - Encoding and Sanitization Safe deserialization, type allowlists
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Initial Access 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 attacker to hold valid low-privilege authenticated access to the target SQL Server instance (CVSS PR:L) and network reachability to it (AV:N); no user interaction is needed (UI:N). The attacker must be able to supply untrusted data to a SQL Server component that deserializes it (CWE-502). The primary limiting factor is the authentication requirement - a credential-less external attacker cannot exploit this directly - so realistic risk concentrates on instances exposed to untrusted or lower-trust database users (e.g. multi-tenant apps, service accounts, or internal users). Affected builds span SQL Server 2019, 2022, and 2025 (GDR and CU branches per EUVD); instances patched to the listed fixed builds (e.g. 16.0.4305.5, 15.0.4500.2, 17.0.1145.4) are not vulnerable. |
| Impact | This is a serious but conditional risk. The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N) scores 8.8 (High) and indicates a network-reachable, low-complexity flaw that nonetheless requires the attacker to already hold valid low-privilege credentials (PR:L) on the SQL Server instance. CWE-502 (deserialization of untrusted data) combined with C:H/I:H/A:H reflects full code execution impact, which aligns with CISA SSVC rating Technical Impact: total. However, the exploitation signals temper the urgency: SSVC lists Exploitation: none and Automatable: no, the CVE is not in CISA KEV, and no public POC is referenced - so there is no public exploit identified at time of analysis. The combination of total technical impact but 'none' exploitation and 'no' automatability suggests a high-impact flaw that is not yet being exploited and is not trivially wormable, making this a patch-priority item (especially where untrusted users have database access) rather than an emergency drop-everything scenario. Key limiting factor to verify: the required privilege level (PR:L) means a fully external, credential-less attacker cannot exploit this directly. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker who already holds low-privilege authenticated access to a SQL Server instance (for example, a compromised application service account or a malicious low-rights database user) sends a crafted serialized object over the network to a component that unsafely deserializes it. The resulting deserialization executes attacker-controlled code with the privileges of the SQL Server process, yielding full confidentiality, integrity, and availability compromise. No public exploit code is identified at time of analysis, and no user interaction is required (UI:N). |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 13, 2026
Deserialization of untrusted data in Microsoft SQL Server (SQL Server 2019, 2022, and 2025 GDR/CU builds) allows an attacker to achieve remote code execution with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact. Exploitation requires the attacker to already hold valid low-privilege authenticated access to the target instance (CVSS PR:L) plus network reachability (AV:N), with no user interaction (UI:N), so credential-less external attackers cannot exploit it directly; realistic risk concentrates on instances reachable by untrusted or lower-trust database users, such as multi-tenant applications, service accounts, or internal users. CISA's SSVC evaluation rates exploitation as none and automatable as no, and no public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis, but the technical impact is rated total. Microsoft has released fixed builds for every affected branch.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: Microsoft has published a security update through the MSRC Update Guide at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-65674, and patch availability is confirmed. Apply the build that matches your installed servicing branch rather than assuming a single universal fix: SQL Server 2022 CU27 to 16.0.4305.5, SQL Server 2022 GDR to 16.0.1210.3, SQL Server 2019 CU32 to 15.0.4500.2, SQL Server 2019 GDR to 15.0.2200.2, SQL Server 2025 CU9 to 17.0.5015.4, and SQL Server 2025 GDR to 17.0.1145.4. Because the CVSS vector requires only low privileges (PR:L), the highest-value compensating control while patching is reducing the population of principals that can reach a deserializing code path: audit and prune over-provisioned logins on exposed instances, and ensure application connection strings use least-privilege accounts rather than sysadmin or db_owner roles - the trade-off is that tighter grants may break legacy applications that rely on elevated permissions. Where SQL Server is not intended to be reachable from untrusted networks, block TCP 1433 (and any custom instance ports, plus UDP 1434 for browser enumeration) at the perimeter and restrict internal access to application tiers via host firewall rules or private endpoints, accepting that this breaks direct administrative and remote developer connectivity. Disabling SQL Server CLR integration (sp_configure 'clr enabled', 0) or restricting assemblies may remove parts of the deserialization attack surface, but it will break legitimate CLR-based functionality and should only be done after confirming no workload depends on it. Monitor for anomalous deserialization activity and unexpected process creation from the sqlservr.exe process tree after patching to detect any exploitation attempts that occurred before the fix was applied.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 6 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 root cause is CWE-502, Deserialization of Untrusted Data. SQL Server components accept serialized input from a connected session and reconstruct live object graphs from it; when the deserializer honors attacker-controlled type or metadata information rather than a fixed allow-list, the reconstructed objects can be leveraged to influence control flow and ultimately execute code in the context of the SQL Server service process. The CVSS:3.1 vector AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H describes an easily triggered (AC:L), network-reachable (AV:N) defect that does not cross a security scope boundary (S:U) but delivers total loss of confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The authentication prerequisite (PR:L) is the single meaningful barrier: a low-privileged database principal is sufficient, so any deployment that exposes SQL Server to less-trusted users - shared hosting, multi-tenant applications, or broad internal login provisioning - has an expanded attack surface, whereas instances restricted to fully trusted administrators are far less exposed. EUVD tracks the defect across both the GDR (security-only) and CU (cumulative update) servicing branches for SQL Server 2019, 2022, and 2025, confirming that the vulnerable deserialization code path is shared across generations rather than confined to one release.
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Network-reachable (AV:N) with no user interaction, but an authorized SQL account is required (PR:L); deserialization yields code execution for full C/I/A impact within the unchanged process scope.
Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).
CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Deserialization of untrusted data in SQL Server allows an authorized attacker to execute code over a network.
Executive ViewAI
A high-severity remote code execution vulnerability affects Microsoft SQL Server deployments across the 2019, 2022, and 2025 release lines, with the potential to fully compromise database hosts. Practical exposure is limited to organizations that grant lower-trust, service, or multi-tenant accounts authenticated access to SQL Server instances, since external attackers cannot exploit it without valid credentials. Because Microsoft has released fixed builds, the primary organizational risk is remediation lag on internet-facing or shared database platforms.
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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
Insecure deserialization occurs when an application converts serialized data (a stream of bytes representing an object's state) back into a living object without proper validation.
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GHSA-qgrc-x7f5-246v
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
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