Remote Code Execution in Windows Deployment Services
CVE-2026-42987 is a use-after-free vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Deployment Services (WDS), the Windows Server role used for network-based OS deployment. The flaw affects WDS handling of network traffic associated with deployment operations and is described as reachable over the network via TFTP-facing functionality. Available reporting indicates the bug can be triggered through specially crafted or malicious TFTP traffic and may involve a timing/race condition that leads WDS to access memory after it has been freed. An unauthenticated attacker can exploit this memory corruption condition against a Windows Server system running the WDS role to achieve remote code execution.
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Impact, mitigation & remediation
What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.
Impact
What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.
Mitigation
If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.
Remediation
Patch, then assume compromise.
Exploits
No public exploits tracked yet. Mallory keeps watching.
No public exploit code observed for this vulnerability.
Affected products & vendors
Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.
Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.
Recent activity
5 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.
A vulnerability in the Windows Server OS installation utility involving a race condition and malicious TFTP traffic that could allow server hijacking during deployment.
A use-after-free remote code execution vulnerability in Windows Deployment Services.
A critical remote code execution vulnerability in Windows Deployment Services caused by a use-after-free flaw.
A remote code execution vulnerability in Windows Deployment Services.
The version that knows your environment.
Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.
Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.
Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.
YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.
Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.
Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.