Description
Allocation of resources without limits or throttling in .NET allows an unauthorized attacker to deny service over a network.
Published: 2026-10-13
Score: 7.5 High
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
Impact: Denial of Service
Action: Immediate Patch
AI Analysis

Impact

The vulnerability in the Microsoft .NET Framework allows an unauthorized attacker to continuously allocate system resources without any limits, leading to excessive consumption of memory or CPU. This resource exhaustion can render affected applications or services unavailable to legitimate users. The weakness is identified as a CWE-770, Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling.

Affected Systems

Affected systems include Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8, 4.8.1 and the System.Security.Cryptography.Xml component. Various product combinations are affected as indicated by the CNA advisory, covering many releases of the .NET Framework.

Risk and Exploitability

The severity score of 7.5 indicates a high potential for impact. Because the vulnerability can be triggered remotely via network requests and the EPSS score is not available, the current evidence suggests a realistic chance of exploitation in environments that expose vulnerable .NET applications over the internet. The flaw is not listed in CISA KEV, but the lack of such a designation does not diminish the risk profile. An attacker with network access could repeatedly invoke the vulnerable code to exhaust resources, resulting in a denial of service.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on October 14, 2026 at 11:42 UTC.

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record.

OpenCVE Recommended Actions

  • Apply Microsoft’s security update for CVE‑2026‑96959 (download from the Microsoft Security Response Center update guide).
  • If the update cannot be applied immediately, limit system resource usage by configuring application pool limits or disabling parsing of untrusted XML to prevent excessive allocations.
  • Monitor the application for abnormal memory or CPU consumption and consider implementing network rate‑limiting or IP blocking against sources that trigger repeated allocation attempts.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on October 14, 2026 at 11:42 UTC.

Tracking

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Advisories
Source ID Title
Github GHSA Github GHSA GHSA-c399-9853-6jmj Microsoft Security Advisory CVE-2026-96959 - .NET and Visual Studio Denial of Service Vulnerability
History

Fri, 16 Oct 2026 19:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Apple
Apple macos
Linux
Linux linux Kernel
Microsoft windows
Microsoft windows 10 1607
Microsoft windows 10 1809
Microsoft windows 10 21h2
Microsoft windows 10 22h2
Microsoft windows 11 23h2
Microsoft windows 11 24h2
Microsoft windows 11 25h2
Microsoft windows 11 26h1
Microsoft windows 11 26h2
Microsoft windows Server 2012
Microsoft windows Server 2016
Microsoft windows Server 2019
Microsoft windows Server 2022
Microsoft windows Server 2025
CPEs cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:.net:11.0.0:preview1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:.net:11.0.0:preview2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:.net:11.0.0:preview3:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:.net:11.0.0:preview4:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:.net:11.0.0:preview5:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:.net:11.0.0:preview6:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:.net:11.0.0:preview7:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:.net:11.0.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:.net_framework:3.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:.net_framework:4.6.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:.net_framework:4.7.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:.net_framework:4.7.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:.net_framework:4.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:.net_framework:4.8.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:.net_framework:4.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:apple:macos:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_1607:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_1809:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_21h2:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_22h2:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_11_23h2:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_11_24h2:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_11_25h2:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_11_26h1:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_11_26h2:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2012:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2012:r2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2016:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2019:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2022:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2025:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Apple
Apple macos
Linux
Linux linux Kernel
Microsoft windows
Microsoft windows 10 1607
Microsoft windows 10 1809
Microsoft windows 10 21h2
Microsoft windows 10 22h2
Microsoft windows 11 23h2
Microsoft windows 11 24h2
Microsoft windows 11 25h2
Microsoft windows 11 26h1
Microsoft windows 11 26h2
Microsoft windows Server 2012
Microsoft windows Server 2016
Microsoft windows Server 2019
Microsoft windows Server 2022
Microsoft windows Server 2025

Tue, 13 Oct 2026 21:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'yes', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Tue, 13 Oct 2026 19:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description Allocation of resources without limits or throttling in .NET allows an unauthorized attacker to deny service over a network.
Title .NET Denial of Service Vulnerability
First Time appeared Microsoft
Microsoft .net
Microsoft .net Framework
Microsoft system.security.cryptography.xml
Weaknesses CWE-770
CPEs cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:.net:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:.net_framework:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:system.security.cryptography.xml:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Microsoft
Microsoft .net
Microsoft .net Framework
Microsoft system.security.cryptography.xml
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C'}


Subscriptions

Apple Macos
Linux Linux Kernel
Microsoft .net .net Framework System.security.cryptography.xml Windows Windows 10 1607 Windows 10 1809 Windows 10 21h2 Windows 10 22h2 Windows 11 23h2 Windows 11 24h2 Windows 11 25h2 Windows 11 26h1 Windows 11 26h2 Windows Server 2012 Windows Server 2016 Windows Server 2019 Windows Server 2022 Windows Server 2025
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: microsoft

Published:

Updated: 2026-10-31T18:11:47.112Z

Reserved: 2026-09-23T20:35:19.929Z

Link: CVE-2026-96959

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-10-13T19:38:00.351Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Analyzed

Published: 2026-10-13T19:22:08.527

Modified: 2026-10-22T22:20:09.200

Link: CVE-2026-96959

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-10-21T20:24:03Z

Weaknesses
  • CWE-770

    Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling