VDB-435507 · CVE-2026-96176 · GCVE-0-2026-96176

Microsoft Windows up to Server 2025 DNS memory leak

CVSS Meta Temp Score CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.	Current Exploit Price (≈) Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.	CTI Interest Score Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
7.3	$5k-$25k	0.59+

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability identified as critical has been detected in Microsoft Windows 11 23H2/11 24H2/11 25H1/11 26H2/Server 2025. The affected element is an unknown function of the component DNS. Performing a manipulation results in memory leak. This vulnerability is reported as CVE-2026-96176. The attack is possible to be carried out remotely. No exploit exists. To fix this issue, it is recommended to deploy a patch.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Microsoft Windows 11 23H2/11 24H2/11 25H1/11 26H2/Server 2025. It has been classified as critical. This affects some unknown functionality of the component DNS. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a memory leak vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-401. The product does not sufficiently track and release allocated memory after it has been used, making the memory unavailable for reallocation and reuse. This is going to have an impact on availability. The summary by CVE is:

Missing release of memory after effective lifetime in Windows DNS allows an unauthorized attacker to deny service over a network.

It is possible to read the advisory at msrc.microsoft.com. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-96176 since 09/22/2026. The exploitability is told to be easy. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. No form of authentication is needed for exploitation. The technical details are unknown and an exploit is not publicly available. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $5k-$25k at the moment (estimation calculated on 11/11/2026). The attack technique deployed by this issue is T1499 according to MITRE ATT&CK.

Applying a patch is able to eliminate this problem.

Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

Operating System

Vendor

Microsoft

Name

Windows

Version

License

commercial

Website

Vendor: https://www.microsoft.com/
Product: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 7.5
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 7.3

VulDB Base Score: 7.5
VulDB Temp Score: 7.2
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CNA Base Score: 7.5
CNA Vector (microsoft): 🔒

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Memory leak
CWE: CWE-401 / CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined
Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Patch
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Timelineinfo

09/22/2026 CVE reserved
11/11/2026 +50 days Advisory disclosed
11/11/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
11/11/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: microsoft.com
Product: microsoft.com

Advisory: msrc.microsoft.com
Status: Confirmed

CNA: microsoft
CVE: CVE-2026-96176 (🔒)

GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-96176
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-435507

Entryinfo

Created: 11/11/2026 01:15
Changes: 11/11/2026 01:15 (63)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103