Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessGain adjacent-network access
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DeliveryAuthenticate with low-privilege credentials
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ExploitCraft malformed DHCP protocol message
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ExecutionTrigger stack buffer overflow in DHCP service
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PersistOverwrite return address
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ImpactExecute arbitrary code as privileged service account
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Stack buffer bounds checking
MITRE ATT&CK
1 technique across 1 tactic: Execution The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | The attacker must be positioned on the same layer-2 network segment or VLAN as the target DHCP server, satisfying the AV:A (adjacent network) requirement. Low-privilege credentials are required ('authorized attacker', PR:L) - unauthenticated exploitation is not indicated by the CVSS vector. The target system must have the Windows DHCP Server role actively installed and running; Windows systems without this role enabled are not affected. No specific non-default configuration beyond role installation is described. Exploitation from the open internet is not possible without a prior internal foothold. These constraints limit the realistic threat actor to insiders, already-compromised internal hosts, or attackers with established lateral movement capability. |
| Impact | CVSS 8.0 with AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H represents a genuine high-severity finding, but the adjacent-network vector materially constrains real-world exposure compared to internet-facing RCE vulnerabilities. An attacker must already be on the same LAN segment or VLAN as the DHCP server and must possess at minimum low-level network credentials - this rules out opportunistic internet-scale scanning. No CISA KEV listing and no public proof-of-concept are identified, so EPSS-equivalent risk signals point toward theoretical rather than actively weaponized exploitation at this time. The combination of PR:L and AV:A means exploitation from the open internet is not feasible without a prior foothold; however, once an attacker has internal access, a DHCP server is a high-value lateral-movement target given its central network role. The full C:H/I:H/A:H impact is credible for a stack overflow in a privileged network service. Even a mid-sized enterprise IT team should treat this as urgent patching work, since internal threat actors or already-compromised workstations represent realistic threat models. No conflicting signals between CVSS vector and description are observed. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker with low-privilege credentials on the same network segment as a Windows DHCP Server crafts a malformed DHCP protocol message designed to overflow a stack buffer in the DHCP service. The overflow overwrites the return address or function pointer on the stack, redirecting execution to attacker-controlled shellcode or a ROP chain. No public proof-of-concept is identified at time of analysis, but the primitives (adjacent network access, authenticated session, stack overflow in a network service) are well-understood by offensive practitioners. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Sep 09, 2026
Stack-based buffer overflow in the Windows DHCP Server role enables an authenticated, adjacent-network attacker to achieve full remote code execution. Affected platforms span Windows Server 2012 through 2025 and Windows 10 (versions 1607 and 1809), covering a broad swath of enterprise infrastructure. Microsoft has released patches; no public exploit code or CISA KEV listing is identified at time of analysis.
RemediationAI
Apply the Microsoft-released patches for each affected Windows Server and Windows 10 version as specified in the MSRC advisory at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-69412. The fix version thresholds from EUVD data are: Windows Server 2025/Core to 10.0.26100.33438 or later; Windows Server 2022 to 10.0.20348.5622 or later; Windows Server 2019/Core and Windows 10 1809 to 10.0.17763.9245 or later; Windows Server 2016/Core and Windows 10 1607 to 10.0.14393.9512 or later; Windows Server 2012 R2/Core to 6.3.9600.23397 or later; Windows Server 2012/Core to 6.2.9200.26349 or later. As a compensating control where immediate patching is not feasible, restrict adjacency to the DHCP server by enforcing VLAN segmentation so that only authorized DHCP relay agents and management hosts can reach the DHCP service ports (UDP 67/68); this reduces the attack surface to trusted network segments but does not eliminate the vulnerability. Disabling the DHCP Server role entirely on systems that do not require it eliminates exposure with no service impact on those hosts.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 13 packages in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
CWE-121 (Stack-based Buffer Overflow) describes a condition where a write operation to a stack-allocated buffer exceeds its declared bounds, corrupting adjacent stack memory including saved return addresses or function pointers. The affected component is the Windows DHCP Server service (typically dhcpserver.exe), which processes DHCP protocol messages from clients on the same network segment. Because DHCP operates over UDP on the local broadcast domain (AV:A), the attack surface is confined to adjacent-network peers. The vulnerability requires low-privilege credentials (PR:L), consistent with 'authorized attacker' language in the description. Affected CPE covers Windows Server 2012 (6.2.9200.x), 2012 R2 (6.3.9600.x), 2016 (10.0.14393.x), 2019 (10.0.17763.x), 2022 (10.0.20348.x), and 2025 (10.0.26100.x), as well as Windows 10 version 1607 and 1809.
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- Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
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Severity by source
AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Adjacent network vector, low-privilege auth requirement, and full CIA impact from stack overflow RCE in a privileged network service are all consistent with description and MSRC data.
Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).
CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Stack-based buffer overflow in Windows DHCP Server allows an authorized attacker to execute code over an adjacent network.
Executive ViewAI
Windows DHCP Server deployments across versions 2012-2025 and Windows 10 are vulnerable to remote code execution by authenticated adjacent-network users, creating risk of network infrastructure and domain service compromise. Immediate patching is required to prevent widespread compromise across your DHCP infrastructure.
Apply vendor patch.
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.
A stack-based buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a buffer located on the stack than it was allocated to hold.
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EUVD-2026-72967
GHSA-9fhm-gfr3-4mw4
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB