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CRITICAL severity

CVE-2026-54118 — Sql Server 2016

CRITICAL

CVE-2026-54118 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in microsoft sql server 2016. A fix is available — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Deserialization of untrusted data in SQL Server allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code over a network.

Published
Updated
Affected
5 products
Patched
See advisory
Exploits
None indexed
Exploitation data as of Oct 12, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

No confirmed exploitation observed yet

  • A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
  • CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2026-54118.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗
1.5%probability of exploitation in next 30 days
Lower Risk0.00%
Lower risk than most CVEs74th percentile — riskier than 74% of all scored CVEsHighest risk
0.66%1.12%1.58%2.03%1.3%1.2%1.5%1.5%Aug 26Oct 26Oct 26

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

CVE-2026-54118 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.

Where this sits among everything scored

Of 385,987 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.

Description

Deserialization of untrusted data in SQL Server allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code over a network.

Affected Products

5 products · 10 configurations
Application
sql server 2016microsoft
≥ 13.0.7000.253 && < 13.0.7095.1
range
Application
sql server 2017microsoft
≥ 14.0.3006.16 && < 14.0.3540.1
range
Application
sql server 2019microsoft
≥ 15.0.4003.23 && < 15.0.4480.2
range
Application
sql server 2022microsoft
≥ 16.0.4003.1 && < 16.0.4262.2
range
Application
sql server 2025microsoft
≥ 17.0.4006.2 && < 17.0.4060.2
range

Detection & mitigation playbook

Vendor / appliance

  1. Detect

    Inventory every microsoft sql server 2016 deployment and check each version against the affected-products list above.

  2. Fix

    Apply the microsoft sql server 2016 security patch or hotfix for CVE-2026-54118 on the affected version, following the vendor advisory for your exact build.

  3. Workarounds

    Do not deserialise data from untrusted sources: where the format allows it, restrict deserialisation to an explicit allowlist of expected types, and prefer a data-only format (JSON, Protobuf) over one that can reconstruct arbitrary objects until you can upgrade. Alongside that, restrict the management interface to trusted networks and apply the vendor's recommended configuration mitigations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Deserialization of untrusted data in SQL Server allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code over a network.
O3 Security · Runtime Protection

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CVE-2026-54118: Sql Server 2016 (Critical 9.8)