KB5068905 is the ESU Monthly Rollup Update for Windows Server 2012 R2. It was released on 11 November 2025 under the ‘Patch Tuesday’ program.
Salient points
- KB5068905 supersedes KB5066873 released in October 2025.
- KB5068905 also includes all changes that are part of the monthly out of band (OOB) update, KB5070886, for Windows Server 2012 R2 released on 23 October 2025.
- KB5068905 requires a Servicing Stack Update to be installed prior to installing the main monthly rollup update. KB5068783 is the SSU corresponding to KB5068905.
- If you install language pack after installing KB5068905, 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.
- KB5068905 is an Extended Security Update. A valid subscription key to the ESU program is required before installing the monthly rollup update.
- In November, Microsoft released information about 63 security vulnerabilities across all products.
- Windows Server 2012 R2 is impacted by 17 security vulnerabilities reported in November 2025 security bulletin. One of these vulnerabilities is a ‘CRITICAL’ severity vulnerability.
- No zero-day vulnerability affects Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows Server 2012 R2 Server Core installation.
Servicing Stack Update KB5068783
The Servicing Stack Update for Windows Server 2012 R2 for November 2025 is KB508783. It corresponds to KB5068905 ESU.
For automated deployments of KB5068905 through the Windows Update program, the Servicing Stack Update KB5068783 is offered for installation as part of the installation process of the monthly rollup update KB5068905. No further action is needed to install KB5068783 for automated installations of KB5068905.
WSUS administrators need to authorize or approve KB5068783 before KB5068905 is fetched and installed in WSUS.
If you choose to deploy KB5068905 manually, you need to download and install KB5068783 on the Windows Server 2012 R2.
The Servicing Stack Update file is a small file of 10.6 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 KB5063950.
Download KB5068905
You can download the monthly rollup update KB5068905 for Windows Server 2012 R2 from the Windows Update Catalog page shared below:
We would reiterate that you need a valid ESU program subscription before you could install the ESU KB5068905 on Windows Server 2012 R2.
Zero-day Vulnerabilities
No new zero-day vulnerability affects Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows Server 2012 R2 Server Core installation, as per the latest security reported released by Microsoft on 11 November 2025.
Critical vulnerabilities
There are 17 reported security vulnerabilities in Windows Server 2012 R2 for November 2025. A single CRITICAL vulnerability affecs Windows Server 2012 R2 and is shared below.
| Vulnerability | CVSS | Description |
|---|---|---|
| CVE-2025-60724 | 9.8 | Remote Code Execution in GDI+. |
KB5068905 – Changelog
Since this is an ESU, the focus remains on securing the Windows Server 2012 R2 deployments. The following changes have been reported for KB5068905:
- [Internal Windows OS] Miscellaneous security improvements were made to internal Windows OS functionality.
Internet Explorer Cumulative Update – KB5066840
To secure the Windows Server 2012 R2, you also need to patch Internet Explorer 11 with the latest cumulative update. KB5066840 is the cumulative update for Internet Explorer released on 14 October 2025. No new IE update has been released in November 2025.
You can download the IE Cumulative Update for Windows Server 2012 R2 from the link shared below:
Download Cumulative Update for Internet Explorer – KB5066840 (54.9 MB)
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