Widely-used SQL Server privilege-escalation vulnerability could disrupt IT ops across industries.
CVE-2026-21262
Privilege escalation via improper access control in SQL Server over network.
Is CVE-2026-21262 being exploited?
Not confirmed. CVE-2026-21262 does not appear in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which records only exploitation that has been observed and reported publicly. That is evidence of absence of a report, not evidence the flaw is unattacked. EPSS currently estimates a 2.0% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How severe is CVE-2026-21262?
CVE-2026-21262 is rated High with a CVSS score of 8.8. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2026-21262?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2026-21262. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2026-21262 affect?
CVE-2026-21262 affects Microsoft SQL Server. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
What should I do about CVE-2026-21262?
Apply latest SQL Server security patch immediately
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
Authenticated network attacker can elevate to higher privileges on the SQL Server instance.
Patch when possible
- affected>= 13.0.0 and < 13.0.7075.5
- affected>= 13.0.0 and < 13.0.6480.4
- affected>= 14.0.0 and < 14.0.3520.4
- affected>= 14.0.0 and < 14.0.2100.4
- affected>= 15.0.0.0 and < 15.0.4460.4
- affected>= 15.0.0 and < 15.0.2160.4
- affected>= 16.0.0.0 and < 16.0.4240.4
- affected>= 16.0.0 and < 16.0.1170.5
- affected>= 17.0.0.0 and < 17.0.4020.2
- affected>= 17.0.1050.2 and < 17.0.1105.2
As published in the CVE Program record. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.