I should just create a blog post template for these, it feels like every 1 to 3 months we have another critical one to share. But here we are again, just yesterday, Microsoft released a fix for CVE-2026-2162. This one can, ultimately, lead to anyone with a SQL login and the ingredients for the exploit to elevate to Sysadmin level privileges – kind of like a few of the patches we talked about in 2025…
You are at risk if you are not deploying the latest patch. We’ve already notified our clients, have already patched many, and are working on schedules to patch the rest with the clients. Are you keeping up with the updates?
Check out the link above from Microsoft to read more about this, and make sure you get the latest patch.
The patch is available for folks on SQL Server 2016 SP3 and on up to SQL Server 2025.
Big Reminder: It’s Past time to Upgrade!
If you are on SQL Server 2014 and below, your absence from the list of SQL Server versions patched doesn’t mean you are safe – it means you are running on completely end-of-life versions of SQL Server – in other words, you are out there operating without any decent security, totally beyond the pale of any acceptable compliance standard. And you are still in production serving your clients (to butcher a quote from Apocalypse Now…)
And when Microsoft releases the fix for the next big security hole after July 14 this year (not sure why they chose Bastille Day – but Bonne fête end-of-life) you also will notice that SQL Server 2016 is missing from the list – and that’s not because you are safe – it’s because you join the list of folks who don’t get the security fix love anymore. And next summer, the same thing happens for those of you still on SQL Server 2017… It’s time to upgrade…
Sooooo… Here’s what you need to do.
Soon –> PATCH! Check out the latest updates for your version of SQL Server here. And patch. If you are hacked by this vulnerability, you may be in trouble and uncovered by insurance, since the fix is out there.
Not too long after –> Get your plans ready for SQL Server Upgrades – especially if you are on SQL Server 2016 or SQL Server 2017.
We can help with either of those things – just hit us on the contact page – but please take care of this as soon as you can, either way!