Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessObtain low-privilege Windows credentials
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DeliveryEstablish authenticated RDP session to target
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ExploitCraft malicious RDP message sequence to trigger race condition
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ExecutionCause use-after-free in RDS memory allocator
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PersistSpray controlled data into freed memory region
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ImpactExecute arbitrary code via RDS service process
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Memory lifecycle management
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Privilege Escalation The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires a low-privilege authenticated account on the target system or domain - the official description specifies an 'authorized attacker,' consistent with CVSS PR:L. The target must have Remote Desktop Services enabled and accessible over the network (default port TCP 3389). Attack complexity is rated High (AC:H), indicating that reliable exploitation requires achieving a specific memory state or race condition within the RDS pipeline, rather than simple deterministic triggering. Exploitation is constrained by: (1) mandatory pre-authentication with at least a low-privilege account, excluding unauthenticated mass-scanning attacks; (2) AC:H race-condition complexity, which reduces automatable exploitation likelihood; (3) RDP service network reachability - hosts with RDP restricted behind VPN, host-firewall rules, or jump-server architectures substantially reduce exposure. No special non-default Windows configuration is otherwise required beyond RDS being enabled, which is default on Windows Server SKUs. |
| Impact | The CVSS 7.5 score (AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) reflects a meaningful but not trivially exploitable vulnerability: network reachability is required, a low-privilege authenticated credential is needed, and high attack complexity (likely a race condition) must be navigated. Full C:H/I:H/A:H impact means successful exploitation yields RCE with the privileges of the RDS service process. No EPSS data was provided; the AC:H complexity requirement makes automated, opportunistic mass exploitation less probable than for AC:L RDP flaws, but targeted exploitation by skilled actors is plausible. There is no KEV listing and no POC has been identified, moderating near-term risk further. However, the breadth of affected platforms - 19 distinct Windows release variants spanning over a decade of releases - creates significant patch-deployment complexity for organizations with heterogeneous estates. Internet-exposed RDP endpoints face substantially elevated risk versus RDP deployments restricted behind VPN. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker holding a low-privilege domain or local account on a network-reachable Windows host with RDP enabled crafts a sequence of RDP protocol messages designed to trigger a race condition in the Remote Desktop Services memory allocator, causing a use-after-free in the RDS heap. The attacker then sprays controlled data into the freed memory region and redirects RDS execution to attacker-supplied shellcode, achieving code execution with the privileges of the RDS service. No public proof-of-concept code has been identified; the AC:H rating implies non-trivial exploitation skill is required. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Sep 09, 2026
Remote code execution in Windows Remote Desktop Services (RDS) allows a low-privileged authenticated network attacker to execute arbitrary code by exploiting a use-after-free condition (CWE-416) in the RDS processing stack. The flaw spans an exceptionally wide range of Microsoft platforms - from Windows Server 2012 through Server 2025 and Windows 10/11 across multiple feature-update releases - making patch coverage operationally demanding for large Windows estates. No CISA KEV listing and no public exploit code have been identified at time of analysis; however, RDP-facing vulnerabilities historically attract rapid weaponization after disclosure.
RemediationAI
Apply the Microsoft security update for the relevant platform via Windows Update, Microsoft Update Catalog, or WSUS, as detailed at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-69539. Confirmed fix builds per EUVD data: Windows Server 2025 to 10.0.26100.33438 or later; Windows Server 2022 to 10.0.20348.5622 or later; Windows Server 2019 and Windows 10 1809 to 10.0.17763.9245 or later; Windows Server 2016 and Windows 10 1607 to 10.0.14393.9512 or later; Windows Server 2012 R2 to 6.3.9600.23397 or later; Windows Server 2012 to 6.2.9200.26349 or later; Windows 10 21H2 to 10.0.19044.7725 or later; Windows 10 22H2 to 10.0.19045.7725 or later; Windows 11 23H2 to 10.0.22631.7582 or later; Windows 11 24H2 to 10.0.26100.9445 or later; Windows 11 25H2 to 10.0.26200.9445 or later; Windows 11 26H1 to 10.0.28000.2954 or later. As a compensating control where patching is delayed, restrict inbound access to TCP 3389 (RDP) at the network perimeter or host-based firewall to trusted source IP ranges only - this eliminates external attack surface while preserving internal management access, though it does not address insider-threat scenarios where PR:L credentials are already held by an attacker.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 19 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-416 (Use After Free): a freed memory region within the Windows Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) service is accessed again before being safely reallocated, creating a condition where an attacker can place controlled data into that region and redirect execution flow. Remote Desktop Services is the Windows component that manages RDP sessions on TCP/3389 by default; it runs with elevated privileges in the Windows service host, making successful exploitation high-impact. The AC:H rating in the CVSS vector strongly implies that triggering the UAF requires achieving a precise memory state or race condition in the RDS pipeline - a non-trivial but achievable constraint for motivated, targeted attackers. Affected product CPE data covers the full Windows ecosystem from build 6.2.9200 (Windows Server 2012) through 10.0.28000 (Windows 11 26H1), as confirmed by the EUVD affected-version data.
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- Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Network-accessible RDP service, low-privilege auth required per description, race-condition UAF complexity justifies AC:H, full CIA impact from code execution.
Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).
CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Use after free in Windows Remote Desktop Services allows an authorized attacker to execute code over a network.
Executive ViewAI
Windows Remote Desktop Services (RDS) is vulnerable to remote code execution affecting Windows Server 2012 through 2025 and Windows 10/11 across multiple versions. The exceptionally broad platform coverage creates significant patching complexity for large Windows environments; given the historical rapid weaponization of RDP-facing vulnerabilities, this presents elevated operational risk during the remediation window.
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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
Use-after-free vulnerabilities occur when a program continues to access memory through a pointer after that memory has been deallocated.
Memory corruption occurs when a program writes data beyond the boundaries of allocated memory regions or accesses memory in unintended ways, violating the integrity of the process's address space.
Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.
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EUVD-2026-73007
GHSA-g6xf-pvfr-p8gw
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB