Quick answers
- Is CVE-2026-42987 exploited in the wild?
- No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-42987 being exploited in the wild.
- How severe is CVE-2026-42987?
- High severity, with a CVSS score of 8.1, published 9 June 2026.
- Which products and versions are affected?
- Microsoft Windows Deployment Services.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2026-42987?
- No fixed version is recorded yet. Check the vendor's advisory in the references below. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.
- How is CVE-2026-42987 attacked?
- It is attacked over the network, in an operating system.
- Am I affected by CVE-2026-42987?
- Check whether you run Microsoft Windows Deployment Services. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.
Technical details
A use-after-free vulnerability (CWE-416) exists within Microsoft Windows Deployment Services (WDS). The flaw is triggered when the service improperly handles objects in memory during network communication, allowing an attacker to reuse a memory pointer after it has been freed. While the attack can be initiated over the network without authentication, the CVSS complexity is rated as high, suggesting specific timing or environmental conditions are required for successful exploitation. Successful exploitation grants the attacker remote code execution (RCE) capabilities on the affected server. Microsoft has released security updates to address this issue.
Affected products
- Microsoft Windows Deployment Services
Timeline
- 2026-06-09: disclosed
- 2026-06-09: advisory: Microsoft published the security update guide for this vulnerability.