KB5048735 for Windows Server 2012 R2

KB5048735 is the ESU Monthly Rollup Update for Windows Server 2012 R2. It was released on 10 December 2024 under the ‘Patch Tuesday’ program.

Salient points

• KB5048735 supersedes KB5046682 released in November 2024.
• KB5048735 requires a Servicing Stack Update to be installed prior to installing the main monthly rollup update. KB5044411 is the SSU corresponding to KB5046682 and KB5048735.
• Servicing Stack Update KB5044411 was released in November. No new SSU for Windows Server 2012 R2 has been released in December 2024.
• If you installed KB5046682, the SSU would have been already installed in November.
• If you install language pack after installing KB5048735, you would need to reinstall the security update once again. All language pack installations must be completed before installing the monthly rollup update on Windows Server 2012 R2.
• KB5048735 is an Extended Security Update. A valid subscription key to the ESU program is required before installing the monthly rollup update.
• There is a CRITICAL vulnerability with CVSS score of 9.8. CVE-2024-49112 impacts Windows Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) and could lead to Remote Code Execution attacks.
• Windows Server 2012 R2 is impacted by 27 security vulnerabilities reported in December 2024 security bulletin. Nine of these vulnerabilities have a CRITICAL severity.

Servicing Stack Update KB5044411

The Servicing Stack Update for Windows Server 2012 R2 for November and December 2024 is KB5044411. It corresponds to KB5046682 and KB5048735.

For automated deployments of KB5048735 through the Windows Update program, the Servicing Stack Update KB5044411 if offered for installation as part of the installation process of the monthly rollup update KB5048735. No further action is needed to install KB5044411 for automated installations of KB5048735.

If you choose to deploy KB5048735 manually, you need to download and install KB5044411 on the Windows Server 2012 R2.

• Download KB5044411 from the Microsoft Update Catalog page

The Servicing Stack Update file is a small file of 10.5 MB. Upon installation, it would not cause server reboot.

Once the SSU is installed, you can proceed with the installation of the main monthly rollup update KB5048735.

Download KB5048735

You can download the monthly rollup update KB5048735 for Windows Server 2012 R2 from the Windows Update Catalog page shared below:

• Download KB5048735 from the Microsoft Update Catalog page (595.1 MB)

We would reiterate that you need a valid ESU program subscription before you could install the ESU KB5048735 on Windows Server 2012 R2.

KB5048735 – Changelog

Since this is an ESU, the focus remains on securing the Windows Server 2012 R2 deployments. The following changes have been reported for KB5048735:

• [Internal Windows OS] Miscellaneous security improvements were made to internal Windows OS functionality. No additional issues are documented for this release.