KB5068966 is the hotpatch for Windows Server 2025 released on 11 November 2025 as part of the ‘Patch Tuesday’ project.
We look at KB5068966 in details below.
What version of Windows 2025 is KB5068966 security update for?
KB5068966 is available for Windows Server 2025 Datacenter edition and Standard editions that are connected to the Azure Arc.
In case you do not know Azure Arc, it offers a centralized, unified way to manage Azure and non-Azure infrastructure by importing these into Azure Resource Manager.
Salient points
- KB5068966 is a hotpatch for Azure-arc enabled Windows Server 2025.
- It addresses 32 security vulnerabilities in Windows Server 2025.
- KB5068966 is the first security update for Windows Server 2025 machines connected to Azure Arc. The baseline for Windows Server 2025 was created for the first time on 14 October 2025.
- KB5068966 corresponds to server build 26100.7092.
- KB5068966 also includes all changes that are part of the KB5070893 security update for WSUS released on 24 October 2025.
- KB5067035 is the Servicing Stack Update correponding to KB5068966 cumulative update.
How do I install KB5068966?
KB5068966 can be installed automatically through the Windows Update service. This hotpatch cannot be manually installed or downloaded from the catalog website.
If Windows Update is enabled on Windows Server 2025 connected to the Azure Arc, the update gets installed automatically. Being a hotpatch, KB5068966 does not cause a server reboot.
KB5067035 – Servicing Stack Update (SSU)
The Servicing Stack Update corresponding to KB5068966 is KB5067035. This SSU is inbuilt into the main security update KB5068966. Therefore, separate installation of KB5067035 is not needed.
Once the cumulative update is processed and installed on Windows Server 2025 through Azure Arc enabled instrastructure, the SSU installation precedes the installation of the main cumulative security update.
Security vulnerabilities
KB5068966 addresses 32 security vulnerabilities disclosed by Microsoft for Windows Server 2025. One of these is a zero day vulnerability.
There are two security vulnerabilities that have CRITICAL severity. Details of the zero day and the CRITICAL security vulnerabilities are shared below.
Zero-day vulnerabilities
One zero-day vulnerability affects Windows Server 2025 24H2 edition. The zero-day vulnerabilities are either publicly disclosed or have proven instances of exploitation. In this case, it has been found that the zero-day has been exploited by threat actors. So, immediate patching of the security update is needed.
One zero-day vulnerability has been reported for Windows Server 2025 in November 2025.
- CVE-2025-62215
- CVSS 3.1 – 7.1
- This vulnerability is confirmed zero-day vulnerability as it has been exploited and exploitation has been confirmed.
- The security vulnerability affects Windows Kernel.
- It could lead to Elevation of Privileges
Critical vulnerabilities
The 2 CRITICAL vulnerabilities affecting Windows Server 2025 are shared below.
We strongly recommend installing KB5068861 on Windows Server 2025 to protect against these security vulnerabilities. There is a CVSS 9.8 security vulnerability affecting the Windows Server 2025 platform.
| CVE-2025-60724 | 9.8 | Remote Code Execution in GDI+. |
| CVE-2025-60716 | 7 | Elevation of Privilege vulnerability in DirectX Graphics Kernel. |
What is a hotpatch for Windows Server 2025?
Hotpatch gives you the ability to apply security updates without restarting a device. This keeps virtual machines up to date and secure. By reducing the number of Patch Tuesday restarts, these devices are also more available. Hotpatch is enabled by default on Azure for Windows Server 2025 Datacenter Azure Edition.
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