How to Fix CVE-2026-32157: Use-after-free in Microsoft Windows

By Sai Kiran Pandrala. Last verified: 2026-05-25.

What is CVE-2026-32157?

Use after free in Remote Desktop Client allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code over a network.

Am I affected?

Run the version check that matches your platform:

# Windows
winget list | findstr /I "remote"
Get-WmiObject Win32_Product | Where-Object { $_.Name -like "*Microsoft Windows*" } | Select-Object Name, Version

Compare what you see against the Affected row above (Microsoft Remote Desktop client for Windows Desktop 1.2.0.0 to <2.0.1070.0; Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1607 10.0.14393.0 to <10.0.14393.9060; Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1809 10.0.17763.0 to <10.0.17763.8644; Microsoft Windows 10 Version 21H2 10.0.19044.0 to <10.0.19044.7184 (and 4 more editions, see vendor advisory)). If your build sits inside that range, you are exposed and should patch.

How to fix CVE-2026-32157

The primary fix is to upgrade Microsoft Windows to the patched build. Use the commands for your platform below; the patched versions listed in the vendor advisory are: Remote Desktop client for Windows Desktop 2.0.1070.0; Windows 10 Version 1607 10.0.14393.9060; Windows 10 Version 1809 10.0.17763.8644; Windows 10 Version 21H2 10.0.19044.7184 (and 19 more SKUs, see vendor advisory).

Windows (PowerShell, run as administrator)

# Check installed version
Get-HotFix | Sort-Object InstalledOn -Descending | Select-Object -First 5

# Apply latest Microsoft security updates (Windows Update)
Install-Module -Name PSWindowsUpdate -Force -SkipPublisherCheck
Import-Module PSWindowsUpdate
Get-WindowsUpdate -MicrosoftUpdate
Install-WindowsUpdate -MicrosoftUpdate -AcceptAll -AutoReboot

# Or via winget for application-level patches
winget upgrade --all --accept-source-agreements --accept-package-agreements

If the affected component is a third-party application, identify the package and run:

winget upgrade --id <vendor.product>

Replace <vendor.product> with the actual winget identifier (run winget search Remote Desktop client for Windows Desktop to find it).

Complete PowerShell remediation script (Windows)

# Fix script for CVE-2026-32157 affecting Remote Desktop client for Windows Desktop
# Run as administrator. Detect -> backup -> upgrade -> verify -> log.

$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
$LogPath  = "C:\Logs\CVE-2026-32157-fix-$(Get-Date -Format yyyyMMdd-HHmmss).log"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force (Split-Path $LogPath) | Out-Null
Start-Transcript -Path $LogPath -Append

try {
    Write-Host "[1/4] Detecting installed version of Remote Desktop client for Windows Desktop"
    $pkg = winget list --id "Remote_Desktop_client_fo" 2>$null
    Write-Host $pkg

    Write-Host "[2/4] Backing up configuration"
    $backup = "C:\Backup\Remote_Desktop_client_fo-$(Get-Date -Format yyyyMMdd)"
    New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force $backup | Out-Null
    Get-ChildItem "C:\ProgramData\Remote_Desktop_client_fo" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
        Copy-Item -Destination $backup -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

    Write-Host "[3/4] Applying upgrade to Remote Desktop client for Windows Desktop 2.0.1070.0; Windows 10 Version 1607..."
    winget upgrade --id "Remote_Desktop_client_fo" --silent --accept-source-agreements --accept-package-agreements
    # Fallback: Windows Update for OS-level fixes
    if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
        Install-Module -Name PSWindowsUpdate -Force -SkipPublisherCheck -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
        Import-Module PSWindowsUpdate
        Install-WindowsUpdate -MicrosoftUpdate -AcceptAll -IgnoreReboot
    }

    Write-Host "[4/4] Verifying patched build"
    winget list --id "Remote_Desktop_client_fo"
    Write-Host "Fix applied. Reboot if prompted."
    exit 0
} catch {
    Write-Error "Patch failed: $_"
    exit 1
} finally {
    Stop-Transcript
}

Complete Bash remediation script (Linux)

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Fix script for CVE-2026-32157 affecting Remote Desktop client for Windows Desktop
# Detect -> backup -> upgrade -> verify -> log.

set -euo pipefail
LOG="/var/log/cve-2026-32157-fix-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).log"
exec > >(tee -a "$LOG") 2>&1

echo "[1/4] Detecting installed version"
if command -v dpkg >/dev/null; then
    dpkg -s remote 2>/dev/null | grep -i version || echo "remote not installed via dpkg"
elif command -v rpm >/dev/null; then
    rpm -q remote || echo "remote not installed via rpm"
fi

echo "[2/4] Backing up configuration"
BACKUP="/root/backup-cve-2026-32157-$(date +%Y%m%d)"
mkdir -p "$BACKUP"
for d in /etc/remote /etc/remote.d /etc/remote.conf; do
    [ -e "$d" ] && cp -a "$d" "$BACKUP/" || true
done

echo "[3/4] Applying upgrade (target: Remote Desktop client for Windows Desktop 2.0.1070.0; Windows 10 Version 1607...)"
if command -v apt-get >/dev/null; then
    apt-get update
    apt-get install --only-upgrade -y remote
elif command -v dnf >/dev/null; then
    dnf upgrade --security -y remote
elif command -v yum >/dev/null; then
    yum update -y remote
elif command -v zypper >/dev/null; then
    zypper --non-interactive patch --category security
fi

echo "[4/4] Verifying patched build"
if command -v dpkg >/dev/null; then
    dpkg -s remote 2>/dev/null | grep -i version
elif command -v rpm >/dev/null; then
    rpm -q remote
fi
echo "Done. Restart any running daemons that loaded the old library."

If you can't patch immediately

If you cannot apply the patched version today, restrict exposure with one of the following runnable controls. None replace the patch.

Windows firewall isolation

# Allow only management subnet to reach the vulnerable service
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Restrict Microsoft Windows" `
    -Direction Inbound -Action Block -RemoteAddress Any `
    -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 443
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Allow Mgmt Microsoft Windows" `
    -Direction Inbound -Action Allow -RemoteAddress 10.0.0.0/8 `
    -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 443

Service-level fallback

# If the affected feature is optional, stop the service until the patch is applied
sudo systemctl stop remote
sudo systemctl disable remote

How to verify the fix worked

# Linux
remote --version 2>/dev/null || dpkg -s remote | grep -i version
rpm -q remote 2>/dev/null || true

# Windows
winget list | findstr /I "remote"
Get-HotFix | Sort-Object InstalledOn -Descending | Select-Object -First 5

Expected: the reported version is at or above Remote Desktop client for Windows Desktop 2.0.1070.0; Windows 10 Version 1607 10.0.14393.9060; Windows 10 Version 1809 10.0.17763.8644; Windows 10 Version 21H2 10.0.19044.7184 (and 19 more SKUs, see vendor advisory). Restart any services that loaded the old library (systemctl restart <service> on Linux, restart the Windows service or reboot when prompted). For network appliances, run show version on the device and confirm the build matches the patched release.

Frequently asked questions

Related fixes

Other vulnerabilities in the same area that are worth patching alongside this one:

• How to Fix CVE-2026-41109: Critical Vulnerability in Visual Studio Code — Critical Vulnerability in Visual Studio Code
• How to Fix CVE-2026-21519: Remote Code Execution in Windows 10 Version 1607 — Remote Code Execution in Windows 10 Version 1607
• How to Fix CVE-2026-20920: Use-After-Free in Windows 11 version 22H3 , Use-After-Free in Windows 11 version 22H3
• How to Fix CVE-2026-32160: Race condition in Microsoft Windows , Race condition in Microsoft Windows
• How to Fix CVE-2026-34341: Critical Vulnerability in Windows 10 Version 1607 , Critical Vulnerability in Windows 10 Version 1607

Is CVE-2026-32157 actually being exploited?

According to the data sources above, no public confirmation of in-the-wild exploitation at this time. Either way, the fix is the same: apply the vendor patch.

Do I need to reboot after patching?

For OS or kernel updates, yes. For most userland packages a systemctl restart <service> is enough. Any process that loaded the old shared library keeps using it until restarted, so when in doubt, reboot.

What is the CVSS score?

8.8 (high). Refer to the vendor advisory for the exact vector string.

Where is the official advisory?

See the References section at the bottom of this page; the vendor's URL is the authoritative source for affected builds and patched versions.

References

• Official vendor advisory: https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-32157
• NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-32157

*Written by Sai Kiran Pandrala. Assembled from the official vendor advisory, NVD record, and CISA KEV listing on 2026-05-25. Always confirm against the vendor's advisory before applying changes in production.*