Executive brief
Windows DHCP Server is a network service that manages IP address assignments for corporate networks and other connected systems. A memory leak in this service allows an authenticated attacker to exhaust available memory, causing the service to stop responding and denying legitimate DHCP requests across the network.
Technical details
This vulnerability is a classic use-after-free or memory leak issue in Windows DHCP Server where dynamically allocated memory is not properly released after its effective lifetime expires. The vulnerability requires prior authentication or network access to trigger via DHCP protocol interactions. An attacker can send specially crafted DHCP requests that cause memory to accumulate without being freed, eventually exhausting system memory and forcing a denial of service. Microsoft has released patches through their security update guide to address this issue.
Affected products
- Microsoft Windows DHCP Server <UNKNOWN>
Timeline
- 2026-09-08: disclosed