Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessObtain local low-privilege account
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DeliveryAccess target Windows system locally
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ExploitTrigger repeated SSTP session setup/teardown sequences
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ExecutionExploit missing resource release (CWE-772)
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PersistExhaust system resources
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ImpactSSTP service unavailable (DoS)
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Resource cleanup on lifecycle end
|
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires: (1) local interactive or remote-shell access to the target Windows system as a low-privileged authenticated user (PR:L); (2) the Windows SSTP service (SstpSvc) must be running and reachable on the target system - SSTP is not enabled by default on workstations but is a standard component of Windows Server VPN/RAS configurations; (3) high attack complexity (AC:H) - likely a race condition or specific sequence of operations to reliably trigger the resource leak rather than a trivial single-request trigger. What limits exploitation: attack vector is local only (AV:L), so remote-only threat actors cannot exploit this directly; high complexity reduces reliability of exploitation; impact is confined to service availability with no credential or data exposure. |
| Impact | The CVSS 4.7 (Medium) score accurately reflects the constrained real-world risk profile. AV:L restricts exploitation to users with local system access; AC:H indicates non-trivial exploitation complexity, likely requiring specific timing conditions to reliably trigger the leak and exhaust the target resource. PR:L means a standard non-privileged user account suffices, but combined with AC:H this limits automated or mass exploitation. The impact is strictly availability (C:N/I:N/A:H), with no confidentiality or integrity implications - contradicting the 'Information Disclosure' tag in the input metadata, which is a mislabel. No KEV listing, no POC, and EPSS data is not provided, all pointing to low immediate exploitation pressure. This is best characterized as a locally exploitable resource-exhaustion DoS that is a maintenance-priority patch rather than an emergency response item. The broad version scope (Server 2012 through Server 2025, Windows 10 and 11) means patch coverage effort across the estate is non-trivial even if urgency is low. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker with a local non-privileged account on a Windows Server acting as an SSTP VPN endpoint initiates repeated SSTP connection sequences crafted to trigger the resource non-release path, exhausting the server's available handles or memory over time. Under the right timing conditions (AC:H), this causes the SSTP service or associated system components to become unresponsive, denying VPN access to legitimate users. No public exploit code exists at time of analysis, and AC:H implies reliable triggering would require research effort. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Sep 09, 2026
Local denial of service in Windows Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol (SSTP) stems from a missing resource release after effective lifetime (CWE-772), allowing an authenticated local attacker to exhaust resources and cause service unavailability. The flaw spans a broad range of Windows and Windows Server releases from Server 2012 through Windows 11 26H1 and Server 2025, confirmed by Microsoft's security response center. No public exploit or active exploitation has been identified; vendor patches are available via the standard Windows Update cycle.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: apply the respective cumulative update for each affected Windows or Windows Server build listed above via Windows Update or WSUS; the exact target build numbers are listed in the affected versions data (e.g., Windows Server 2025 should reach 10.0.26100.33438 or later). The Microsoft advisory at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-72931 should be consulted for the specific KB article associated with each product. As a compensating control where patching is not immediately possible, organizations not using SSTP VPN functionality can disable the SSTP service (SstpSvc) on affected hosts via 'Set-Service -Name SstpSvc -StartupType Disabled' and 'Stop-Service SstpSvc'; note this will break any active SSTP-based VPN connections. Blocking external SSTP traffic (TCP 443 to the SSTP listener) at the perimeter does not mitigate this vulnerability since the CVSS attack vector is local, not network.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 19 packages in euvd
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Technical ContextAI · show details
SSTP (Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol) is a Microsoft-proprietary VPN tunneling protocol that encapsulates PPP traffic over HTTPS (port 443/TLS). Its implementation in the Windows kernel or associated service is affected by CWE-772 - Missing Release of Resource after Effective Lifetime - where allocated resources (likely memory buffers, handles, or connection state objects) are not freed upon session termination or error paths, leading to cumulative resource exhaustion. The CVSS vector (AV:L/AC:H) establishes this as a local exploit requiring specific timing or conditions (AC:H) rather than a trivial trigger. The flaw is confirmed present across Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server 2012-2025, suggesting the vulnerable code path exists in a shared SSTP component across Windows generations.
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Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Local exploit only (AV:L), high complexity to reliably trigger leak (AC:H), standard user account required (PR:L), no confidentiality or integrity impact.
Primary rating from NVD.
CVSS VectorNVD
Lifecycle Timeline
3DescriptionNVD
Missing release of resource after effective lifetime in Windows Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol (SSTP) allows an authorized attacker to deny service locally.
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
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EUVD-2026-73663
GHSA-qx7p-9crp-h4hf
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
VulDB
Exploit-DB