Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
-
AccessLure victim to malicious RDP server
-
DeliveryClient initiates connection and receives crafted data
-
ExploitTrigger use-after-free in RDP client
-
ExecutionExecute arbitrary code as user
-
ImpactCompromise client host
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 the victim to run the Windows Remote Desktop Client and initiate a connection to an attacker-controlled, compromised, or MITM'd RDP server (UI:R); the malicious server then returns crafted data that triggers the use-after-free. No authentication to the client is needed (PR:N), but the following factors LIMIT exploitation: mandatory user interaction (the user must actively start an RDP session to the hostile endpoint), high attack complexity (AC:H) implying the attacker must satisfy specific memory/timing conditions to reliably trigger the UAF, and the fact that this affects the CLIENT rather than a listening service - so there is no path to attack a passive victim who never connects out. Patched builds are enumerated per Windows version in EUVD (e.g., Windows 11 24H2 fixed in 10.0.26100.9711, Server 2025 in 10.0.26100.33650). |
| Impact | This is a client-side remote code execution flaw (CWE-416 use-after-free) in the Windows Remote Desktop Client, scored CVSS 7.5 with vector AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. The signals are internally consistent and point to a serious-but-not-emergency priority. Impact is total (full C/I/A compromise of the client host, corroborated by SSVC Technical Impact: total), but several factors temper real-world urgency: the CVSS vector requires high attack complexity (AC:H) and user interaction (UI:R), meaning the victim must be induced to connect their RDP client to an attacker-controlled or malicious server, and the UAF likely needs specific timing/heap conditions to win. The exploitation signals all point the same low direction: SSVC lists Exploitation: none and Automatable: no, there is no CISA KEV listing, no public exploit code identified, and no EPSS score was provided in the input. Because this is a CLIENT (not the RDP server/service), the 'over a network' phrasing refers to a malicious server attacking a connecting client, not an unauthenticated internet-facing service - this is an important nuance for prioritization. Net: high-severity due to total impact and ubiquity of Windows, but current exploitation likelihood is low and attacker-driven social engineering is required; patch on a normal-to-prompt cadence rather than as an actively-exploited emergency. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker stands up a malicious RDP server (or compromises/MITMs a legitimate one) and lures a user - via a phishing link, malicious .rdp file, or rogue connection broker - into connecting their Windows Remote Desktop Client to it. The server returns crafted responses that trigger the use-after-free in the client, achieving arbitrary code execution in the context of the connecting user. No public proof-of-concept or exploit code has been identified at time of analysis, and the high attack complexity (AC:H) means reliable exploitation requires winning specific memory-state conditions. |
Get an e-mail when this CVE is exploited, patched or re-scored. Free account.
Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 14, 2026
Outbound RDP sessions from the Windows Remote Desktop Client can be turned against the client itself: when a user connects to an attacker-controlled, compromised, or man-in-the-middle'd RDP server, crafted response data triggers a use-after-free (CWE-416) that can lead to code execution on the victim's machine, with total technical impact if the memory corruption is reliably steered. The attacker needs no credentials on the client (PR:N) and can operate remotely over the network (AV:N), but exploitation is gated by mandatory user interaction (the user must actively initiate the session, UI:R) and high attack complexity (AC:H) reflecting the precision required to trigger and control the freed allocation. Microsoft rates this CVSS 7.5 and has released vendor patches; there is no public exploit identified at time of analysis and no evidence of exploitation - CISA's SSVC assessment records Exploitation: none and Automatable: no.
RemediationAI
Apply the vendor patch - Microsoft lists this as fixed in the monthly update, with per-branch target builds: Windows 11 24H2 → 10.0.26100.9711, 23H2 → 10.0.22631.7652, 25H2 → 10.0.26200.9711, 26H2 → 10.0.26300.9711, 26H1 → 10.0.28000.3231; Windows 10 21H2/22H2 → 10.0.19044.7807, 1809 → 10.0.17763.9376, 1607 → 10.0.14393.9612; Windows Server 2025 → 10.0.26100.33650, 2022 → 10.0.20348.5761, 2019 → 10.0.17763.9376, 2016 → 10.0.14393.9612, 2012 → 6.2.9200.26434, 2012 R2 → 6.3.9600.23470 (see https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-69987). Because the defect is in the client and requires the user to connect outward, the most effective compensating control is to constrain where the client may connect: enforce egress filtering for TCP/UDP 3389 so clients can only reach approved RDP gateways or jump hosts, and block RDP to untrusted internet endpoints - the trade-off is lost ad-hoc remote access to external hosts and possible breakage of BYOD/contractor workflows, so pair it with an approved gateway rather than a blanket deny. Where the client is not operationally required, removing or blocking launch of mstsc.exe and the Remote Desktop Store app eliminates the attack surface outright, at the cost of no interactive RDP from those endpoints. Users should be trained not to open .rdp files or connect to RDP hosts from unsolicited links/mail, since UI:R is the required trigger, and EDR should alert on RDP client crashes or anomalous child processes spawned from mstsc.exe. There is no reported active exploitation (SSVC Exploitation: none), so remediation can follow normal patch-cycle prioritization, though client-heavy environments (support desks, admins, remote workers) should treat it as elevated.
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 root cause is CWE-416, a use-after-free in the Windows Remote Desktop Client (mstsc.exe and the underlying RDP client stack). Unlike most RDP CVEs, the vulnerable component is the client, not the RDP service listener: the flaw is reached while parsing/processing data returned by the RDP server during connection setup and session handling - the client frees a memory object and then dereferences it again when handling subsequent server-supplied data. This inverts the usual threat model, since there is no listening socket on the victim to probe; the attacker must instead act as (or interpose on) the RDP server side via a malicious host, a compromised server, or a MITM position on the user's outbound RDP path. Microsoft's tags (Use After Free, Memory Corruption, Denial Of Service) and the assessed vector (AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) indicate that the same primitive can crash the client and, in the code-execution case, yield high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact within the client's security context, making the affected user's session and any credentials/data handled by the RDP client valuable targets. The high attack complexity and required user action are the primary practical brakes on weaponization, consistent with the SSVC 'Automatable: no' rating.
Know when Windows gets its next vulnerability
- Watch products and get an email when something new is published
- Check this CVE against your own stack and servers
- Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
No credit card · 7-day full trial
Severity by source
AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Client connects over a network to a malicious server (AV:N) with user action required (UI:R); UAF needs specific memory conditions (AC:H); no prior auth (PR:N); code execution yields full C/I/A on the client host.
Primary rating from Vendor (microsoft).
CVSS VectorVendor: microsoft
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Use after free in Remote Desktop Client allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code over a network.
Executive ViewAI
A memory-corruption vulnerability in Microsoft's Windows Remote Desktop Client (CVE-2026-69987, CVSS 7.5) allows a malicious or compromised RDP server to execute code on the machine of any employee who initiates an outbound connection to it, giving an attacker potential full control of that endpoint. Because the affected client ships with Windows by default and is used broadly for vendor, partner, and remote-support access, the exposure spans the general workforce rather than a single business unit or data-center tier. Exploitation requires the user to start the session and is not currently observed in the public threat landscape, so the immediate likelihood is limited while the potential operational and data-integrity consequences remain serious.
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
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.
Unauthenticated remote code execution in SmarterTools SmarterMail lets an attacker upload arbitrary files to any locatio
Windows Win32k fails to properly handle objects in memory, allowing local privilege escalation exploited in the wild in
A privilege escalation vulnerability (CVSS 5.5). Risk factors: actively exploited (KEV-listed), EPSS 94% exploitation pr
Windows Internet Shortcut Files (.url) contain an external control vulnerability (CVE-2025-33053, CVSS 8.8) that enables
Windows SMB contains an improper access control vulnerability (CVE-2025-33073, CVSS 8.8) enabling authenticated attacker
Twonky Server 8.5.2 on Linux and Windows allows unauthenticated access to the admin log file through a web service API b
An unrestricted file upload vulnerability exists in MiniWeb HTTP Server <= Build 300 that allows unauthenticated remote
FreeFloat FTP Server contains multiple critical design flaws that allow unauthenticated remote attackers to upload arbit
Serviio Media Server versions 1.4 through 1.8 on Windows contain an unauthenticated command injection in the /rest/actio
Twonky Server 8.5.2 uses hard-coded cryptographic keys for encrypting the administrator password. Combined with the cred
Mako Server versions 2.5 and 2.6 contain an unauthenticated OS command injection via the tutorial interface at examples/
React Native Metro Development Server binds to external interfaces by default and contains an OS command injection endpo
EUVD-2026-99847
GHSA-cggc-j463-65r9
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB