CVE-2026-88120: Windows DHCP Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Overview

Severity

High (CVSS 8.1)

CVSS Vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C

Category

Remote Code Execution

Exploit Status

Not Exploited

Exploitation Likelihood

Less Likely

Patch Tuesday

2026-Oct

Released

2026-10-13

Description

Use after free in Windows DHCP Server allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code over a network.

FAQ

According to the CVSS metric, the attack complexity is high (AC:H). What does that mean for this vulnerability? Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires an attacker to win a race condition. How could an attacker exploit this vulnerability? An unauthenticated attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a specially crafted packet to an affected service over the network. Successful exploitation could allow the attacker to execute code on the target system. No authentication or user interaction is required..

Affected Products (12)

ESU

• Windows Server 2012
• Windows Server 2012 (Server Core installation)
• Windows Server 2012 R2
• Windows Server 2012 R2 (Server Core installation)

Windows

• Windows Server 2016
• Windows Server 2016 (Server Core installation)
• Windows Server 2019
• Windows Server 2019 (Server Core installation)
• Windows Server 2022
• Windows Server 2022 (Server Core installation)
• Windows Server 2025
• Windows Server 2025 (Server Core installation)

Security Updates (6)

• 5126835
• 5126836
• 5126868
• 5126651
• 5126655
• 5126646

Acknowledgments

Satyanarayana Oruganti with Microsoft

Revision History

• 2026-10-13: Information published.