22/01/2026
Ιn January 2026, Microsoft officially confirmed a critical defect affecting Database Mail in:
SQL Server 2022 – Cumulative Update 23 (CU23)
SQL Server 2025 – Cumulative Update 1 (CU1)
Both updates were temporarily withdrawn because Database Mail stops working completely after installation.
Microsoft states that installing these updates can cause DatabaseMail.exe to fail with a missing assembly error, preventing all email notifications from being delivered. [learn.microsoft.com]
This issue impacts environments that rely on SQL Server for:
✔ Alerting
✔ Job notifications
✔ Automated reporting
✔ Application‑driven emails
⚠ What you should do
Do NOT install SQL Server 2022 CU23 or SQL Server 2025 CU1 if your systems rely on Database Mail.
If you have already installed them, Microsoft recommends uninstalling the affected CU to restore functionality.
Microsoft is working on a fix and will re‑release the updates when resolved.
✔ Temporary Workaround
Until Microsoft provides a permanent fix, we developed a safe, fully‑controlled Database Mail shim that:
Reads pending messages from msdb
Sends them via SMTP (e.g., Office 365)
Maintains full compatibility with existing SQL Agent jobs and applications
Requires no changes to existing T‑SQL logic
Works across multiple SQL instances and AG listeners
This workaround is intended only for environments impacted by this specific CU regression and is not required under normal circumstances.
If you need help implementing the workaround or assessing whether your environment is affected, feel free to reach out.
https://github.com/antonchgr/Database-Mail-Shim/tree/main