N-central 2026.4 RC3 Release

Build Number:	2026.4.0.14 [N-central]
Last updated:	19-Aug-2026

What's New in 2026.4

We’re introducing exciting new features, enhancements, and critical fixes to improve usability, security, and performance. Here’s what’s in the 2026.4 release:

The N-central 2026.4 agent package is approximately 130 MB. The package size may change before General Availability.

• N-central 2026.4 RC3 Release
  • Includes N-central 2026.3 Hotfix 2 – Additional Mitigation for CVE-2026-18577
  • Additional information:
    • N-central (self-hosted) – How do I upgrade to RC3?
    • How do I find out if I have been impacted?
  • Supported upgrade paths
  • Do I need to update my agents too?
  • For more information:
  • What's New in 2026.4
  • Dedicated Ecoverse Navigation and Modern Feature Discovery
  • Native Dark Mode, Themes and Contrast Modes
  • Migrate Integrated Backup (BUI) Devices to Cove Without Uninstalling the Backup Manager
    • What's New:
    • Before You Begin
    • Migrate Selected Devices
    • What Happens During Migration
    • Verify the Migration
    • Important Notes
  • Server Upgrade Pre-Check & Progress Visibility
  • Automation Manager enhancements
  • Bug Fixes

Dedicated Ecoverse Navigation and Modern Feature Discovery

N-central now includes a dedicated Ecoverse section in the left navigation, providing a clear home for modern, cloud-powered capabilities and making them easier for customers and technicians to discover.

Previously, Ecoverse capabilities were only visible when the following minimum requirements were met:

• Hosted N-central and on-premises N-central: Users required a valid N-able Login or N-able Login with Entra ID.

• On-premises N-central: N-central 2025.2.0.1 or later with Analytics enabled to establish cloud connectivity.

• Applicable feature flag enabled for the server.

• Appropriate roles and permissions assigned to users.

As a result, users who did not meet these requirements might not have been aware that these capabilities were available.

With this release, the Ecoverse section and applicable modern capabilities are visible in the navigation even when all access requirements have not yet been met.

Users who do not meet the required criteria are provided with guidance on what is needed to access a capability.

Administrators receive additional guidance on configuring N-able Login, enabling the required cloud connectivity, and completing the necessary configuration.

Existing role-based permissions continue to be enforced. Visibility of an Ecoverse feature does not grant access to that feature.

Highlights:

• Modern Ecoverse capabilities are easier to discover, even when the prerequisites for access have not yet been met.

• Guidance is provided when additional configuration is required to access a capability.

• Existing role-based access and permissions remain enforced.

• Provides a scalable navigation foundation for introducing future Ecoverse capabilities independently of traditional N-central server releases.

Native Dark Mode, Themes and Contrast Modes

N-central now introduces a native personalization framework designed to improve comfort, usability, and inclusivity for every technician.

Choose between Light and Dark Mode, personalize your experience with multiple built-in themes, and apply contrast modes designed to improve visibility, readability, and viewing comfort.

Highlights

• Native Light and Dark Mode.



• Five built-in themes:

  • Default: Uses the original N-central appearance. Dark and light mode are not available.

  • Modern Classic: The core N-central theme. Select this theme to enable dark or light mode.

  • Coastal Sky: Clean and professional.

  • Lavender Mist: Bold and modern.

  • Jade Garden: Fresh and vibrant.

  

• Contrast modes including:

  • Contrast Optimized: Enhanced contrast.

  • Red-Green Optimized: Improves red-green colour distinction.

  • Blue-Gold Optimized: Improves blue-yellow colour distinction.

  • Blue-Orange Optimized: Improves blue-orange colour distinction.

  • Color Vision Optimized: Reduces reliance on colour alone.

  • Readability Optimized: Improves text readability.

  • Warm Light Optimized: Reduces blue light.

Customer Benefits:

• Reduce eye strain during extended work sessions.

• Personalize the interface without relying on third-party browser extensions.

• Improve readability with contrast modes for technicians with diverse visual needs.

Migrate Integrated Backup (BUI) Devices to Cove Without Uninstalling the Backup Manager

Partners can now migrate N-central Integrated Backup (BUI) devices to Cove Data Protection while keeping the Backup Managerapplication installed on the device. Previously, disabling Integrated Backup removed the Backup Manager from the endpoint, requiring it to be manually reinstalled before the device could be protected by Cove.

What's New:

Partners can now:

• Migrate one or more Integrated Backup devices directly from the All Devices view.

  

• Migrate all eligible BUI devices for a customer from the Cove Data Protection menu (coming in a future update).

• Keep the Backup Manager application installed throughout the migration process.

• Automatically transition device monitoring from Integrated Backup to Cove without reinstalling the Backup Manager.

Before You Begin

Before migrating, ensure:

• The partner has an active Cove Standalone account.

• The partner has been informed of the migration scope and has provided explicit email approval.

• Target devices are running N-central Agent version 2026.4.0.1 or later.

• Integrated Backup (BUI) is currently enabled on the devices being migrated.

Migrate Selected Devices

1. Open the customer in N-central.

2. Navigate to All Devices.

3. Select one or more devices with Integrated Backup enabled.

4. Select Migrate BUI to Cove.

5. Review the confirmation dialog.

6. Select Continue to begin the migration.

(Customer-wide migration from the Cove Data Protection navigation, and migration support within Maintenance Tasks and Rules are currently under development.)

What Happens During Migration

When migration begins:

• The Backup Manager application remains installed on the endpoint.

• Integrated Backup (BUI) is disabled.

• MSPBackup monitoring services are removed automatically.

• Cove Data Protection monitoring services are enabled automatically.

• Backup Manager configuration options are hidden for migrated devices.

• N-central rules no longer reapply Integrated Backup to migrated devices.

Verify the Migration

After the migration completes, verify that:

• Cove monitoring services are present.

• MSPBackup monitoring services have been removed.

• The Backup Manager application remains installed on the Windows device.

• Cove backup services report a healthy status.

Important Notes

• This capability is intended as a support-assisted migration tool rather than a self-service migration workflow.

• After migration, N-central no longer manages the Backup Manager in the same manner as Integrated Backup devices.

• Availability depends on Cove integration being enabled and the appropriate permissions being assigned.

• Additional migration options, including customer-wide migration from the Cove Data Protection menu and migration support through Maintenance Tasks and Rules, are currently under development.

Server Upgrade Pre-Check & Progress Visibility

Upgrading N-central is now more predictable and transparent with comprehensive pre-upgrade validation and real-time upgrade visibility.

Before taking the server offline, N-central performs a series of readiness checks, including disk space, database health, certificates, backup readiness, operating system prerequisites, and network validation. Administrators can review the results and address any issues before proceeding, helping to minimize unexpected downtime.

This feature provides visibility into upgrade pre-checks that are performed before an upgrade begins. The pre-checks run online, independently of the upgrade process, and do not cause service disruption. No upgrade actions are performed until the administrator reviews the results and chooses to proceed.

Highlights:

• Online pre-upgrade validation before downtime begins.

• Upgrade package validation and verification prior to execution.

• Pass, Warning, and Fail status for each validation check.

• Validation results available before initiating the upgrade.

• Early identification of package and environment readiness issues.

• One-click download of pre-upgrade validation results and logs.

• Review validation results before initiating the upgrade.

Customer Benefits:

• Eliminate unnecessary downtime caused by failed pre-checks.

• Identify package or environment readiness issues before beginning the upgrade process.

• Upgrade production servers with greater confidence.

• Resolve upgrade readiness issues before downtime is scheduled.

• Reduce time spent working with Support.

• Encourage faster adoption of new releases and security updates.

• Gain a more controlled and predictable upgrade experience.

Automation Manager enhancements

Automation Manager now supports PowerShell 7 through a new Run PowerShell 7 Script object, enabling automation policies to use a modern PowerShell runtime while maintaining compatibility with existing PowerShell 5.1 policies.

The release also introduces significant script editor enhancements, including syntax highlighting, line numbers, parameter auto-complete, word wrap, zoom controls, current-line highlighting, and improved editor window behavior. PowerShell 7 support is available for 64-bit Windows operating systems.

For further information see Automation Manager Release – PowerShell 7 Support and Improved Script Editing Experience release.

Bug Fixes

A range of high-impact bugs have been resolved in this release. Be sure to review the full list included below for more details.

 

 

Category	Updated Summary	Issue Key
Core Platform
Core	Summary: Improved server performance during security token verification.	NCCF-2078544
	Issue: Under heavy load, token verification could reduce server responsiveness.
	Fix: Updated verification handling to prevent performance degradation.
Core	Summary: Resolved monitoring tasks becoming stale when scheduled triggers are left paused.	NCCF-2353153
	Issue: Quartz-scheduled monitoring tasks whose trigger became stuck could silently stop scanning, causing services to be marked Stale.
	Fix: Updated task trigger handling to prevent paused triggers from stalling service scans.
Core	Summary: Resolved system errors caused by deadlocks when updating Service Templates with many device associations.	NCCF-2307063
	Issue: Updating a Custom Service within a Service Template deployed to thousands of devices could cause a database deadlock and system error.
	Fix: Updated task ID processing order to prevent concurrent database lock conflicts during service template updates.
Core	Summary: Resolved slow upgrades caused by AIDE integrity scanning large output file directories.	NCCF-2249046
	Issue: The AIDE integrity check during upgrades could take several hours when the scheduled task output directory contained millions of files.
	Fix: Excluded high-change directories from AIDE scanning to prevent upgrade delays.
Core	Summary: Corrected email validation that blocked upgrades for domains with long top-level domains.	NCCF-2140790
	Issue: N-central upgrade could fail if the notification email address used a top-level domain longer than four characters.
	Fix: Updated email validation to support top-level domains of any valid length.
Core	Summary: Resolved upgrade failure when invoked within one hour after a backup restore.	NCCF-2101113
	Issue: Starting an upgrade shortly after a backup restore could fail because a delayed cleanup script removed the upgrade repository.
	Fix: Updated the backup restore process to prevent interference with active upgrade operations.
Core	Summary: Resolved NullPointerException when running NCLI commands.	NCCF-2114342
	Issue: Running NCLI commands could fail with a NullPointerException after certain code updates were applied.
	Fix: Corrected the SOAP binding initialization to prevent null class references.
Core	Summary: Updated LaunchDarkly client dependency to address feature flag stability.	NCCF-1944862
	Issue: A connectivity issue with LaunchDarkly could cause all feature flags to be disabled, potentially breaking SSO login.
	Fix: Updated the LaunchDarkly SDK to a supported version to improve connection resilience.
Core	Summary: Corrected scheduled task removal when changing device licence mode.	NCCF-1936757
	Issue: Changing a device from Professional to Essential licence mode did not remove scheduled tasks from the device.
	Fix: Updated the licence eligibility lookup to use the correct licence mode values.
Core	Summary: Corrected time server configuration not being applied by chronyd.	NCCF-1533434
	Issue: Changing the time server in N-central did not update the active time source used by the system.
	Fix: Updated chronyd configuration loading to use N-central's time server settings.
Core	Summary: Resolved Azure disk expansion failures when more than 24 data disks are attached.	NCCF-950596
	Issue: Azure deployments with more than 24 data disks could fail during volume group creation.
	Fix: Updated the disk expansion script to correctly handle device names beyond /dev/sdz.
Core	Summary: Restored MFA reset and two-factor authentication controls for MSP SSO users.	NCCF-2544553
	Issue: Previously restored controls were disabled, even though the reset request was confirmed to be handled by MSP SSO.
	Fix: Reverted the prior change and restored the MFA reset and two-factor authentication controls for MSP SSO users.
Core	Summary: Corrected DMA enrollment failures caused by invalid session handling.	NCCF-2350907
	Issue: DMA enrollment links could fail with an UnknownSessionException and prevent device enrolment.
	Fix: Updated session handling for DMA enrollment to prevent the invalid session failure.
Core	Summary: Resolved database locking caused by backend session cleanup.	NCCF-2249181
	Issue: Backend session cleanup could contribute to database locking and affect N-central responsiveness.
	Fix: Updated backend session cleanup handling to reduce locking during session close operations.
Core	Summary: Corrected customer save system errors on servers with large rule sets.	NCCF-2037707
	Issue: Saving a customer on servers with large rule sets could cause a system error.
	Fix: Updated customer save handling to support large rule set processing.
Core	Summary: Corrected database deadlocks during large notification changes.	NCCF-1984750
	Issue: Large notification configuration changes could cause database deadlocks.
	Fix: Updated notification change handling to prevent database deadlocks during large updates.
Core	Summary: Corrected VMware credential handling that caused system errors.	NCCF-1928272
	Issue: VMware user name handling could generate system errors in some environments.
	Fix: Updated credential handling to prevent VMware user name related system errors.
Core	Summary: Resolved Java crashes during NKO health checks of XMPP services.	NCCF-1851006
	Issue: NKO health checks of XMPP services could trigger a Java crash.
	Fix: Updated XMPP health check handling to prevent the crash.
Core	Summary: Corrected registration token sorting by customer.	NCCF-120948
	Issue: Sorting registration tokens by the Customer column could return zero results.
	Fix: Updated the registration token sorting logic to return the expected results.
Performance & Stability
Core	Summary: Reduced table contention in the DMS cache framework during asset discovery.	NCCF-2334266
	Issue: Read/write lock contention on the extended appliance configuration table could cause thread stalls during asset data processing.
	Fix: Optimized cache locking to reduce contention and improve concurrent processing.
Core	Summary: Improved submit queue handling for customers with very large device counts.	NCCF-2326713
	Issue: Customers with a disproportionately large number of services under one customer could overwhelm a single submit queue.
	Fix: Updated submit queue thread assignment to better distribute processing load.
Core	Summary: Improved Customer Mapping performance when saved filters are used.	NCCF-2524970
	Issue: Customer Mapping pages could load slowly when filter settings were not retained correctly.
	Fix: Updated Customer Mapping filter handling to improve performance and preserve saved filter settings.
Core	Summary: Reduced contention in device property processing.	NCCF-2599793
	Issue: Concurrent device property operations could increase database contention.
	Fix: Updated repository handling to apply indexed criteria inside the DAO lock and move string comparison outside the lock.
Core	Summary: Reduced database contention during asset job processing.	NCCF-2481637
	Issue: Asset job processing could experience increased write-lock contention during large delete operations.
	Fix: Updated indexing and processing behaviour to reduce contention during asset job updates.
Core	Summary: Improved scheduled task profile processing for large device counts.	NCCF-2451257
	Issue: Scheduled Task profiles targeting many devices could cause status operations to time out.
	Fix: Updated activity result processing to use bulk queries and improve profile status loading.
Core	Summary: Reduced unnecessary appliance configuration updates.	NCCF-2454390
	Issue: N-central could update isconfigrequired for appliance IDs that did not require configuration updates.
	Fix: Updated appliance configuration handling to avoid unnecessary isconfigrequired updates.
Core	Summary: Improved device loading performance by reducing TimeElapsedCounter processing delays.	NCCF-2276577
	Issue: Loading devices could spend extended time in TimeElapsedCounter processing.
	Fix: Updated device loading handling to reduce the delay and improve page responsiveness.
Agents & Device Management
Agent	Summary: Prevented MMS service from resetting its configuration to incorrect default values.	NCCF-2249740
	Issue: The MMS service could overwrite its configuration with incorrect defaults after a crash or recovery event.
	Fix: Updated the configuration recovery logic to use correct default values.
Agent	Summary: Restored auto-detection of Veeam backup monitoring service templates.	NCCF-2124781
	Issue: Veeam 13+ backup monitoring service templates could not be detected and auto-onboarded because Veeam now uses PowerShell 7.
	Fix: Updated asset scanning to support Veeam backup detection with PowerShell 7.
Agent	Summary: Cleaned up and signed PowerShell scripts in the Windows Agent bin folder.	NCCF-1976766
	Issue: Unsigned and outdated PowerShell scripts in the agent installation folder could trigger security tool warnings.
	Fix: Removed inactive scripts and signed active scripts to align with security expectations.
Agent	Summary: Resolved probe crashes caused by concurrent SNMP operations.	NCCF-1863538
	Issue: The probe service could crash with a NullReferenceException when multiple SNMP tasks ran simultaneously.
	Fix: Updated SNMP manager handling to prevent concurrent access conflicts.
Agent	Summary: Corrected SNMPv3 handling of per-OID response exceptions.	NCCF-1842962
	Issue: SNMPv3 monitoring could incorrectly report Error 102 when individual OIDs returned noSuchInstance or noSuchObject responses.
	Fix: Updated SNMP response validation to treat per-OID exceptions as expected responses rather than fatal errors.
Agent	Summary: Improved performance of Windows service monitoring to prevent services from going stale.	NCCF-879370
	Issue: WMI-based service monitoring calls could stall, causing agent-based monitoring services to become stale periodically.
	Fix: Updated Windows service monitoring to use Service Control Manager directly for faster, more reliable results.
Agent	Summary: Removed unused BitsAdmin.exe from the Windows Agent and Probe.	NCCF-4524
	Issue: The Windows Agent and Probe packages included BitsAdmin.exe, a legacy component originally used for remote control support. This component was no longer in use, and AV Defender scan exclusions for the file were still configured despite it not being required.
	Fix: Removed BitsAdmin.exe and its associated code from the Windows Agent and Probe installer packages. Removed AV Defender scan exclusions for the file. On upgraded devices, the residual BitsAdmin.exe file in the bin directory is automatically cleaned up on the first agent or probe service restart after the update.
Notifications & Alerting
Core	Summary: Resolved intermittent failure of scheduled task email notifications.	NCCF-1954771
	Issue: Scheduled task completion email notifications could intermittently fail to generate on certain days.
	Fix: Updated notification creation handling to ensure email notifications are reliably generated after task completion.
Custom PSA	Summary: Corrected Custom PSA Return to Normal email subjects.	NCCF-2259806
	Issue: Custom PSA Return to Normal email subjects ignored the notification template and used a hardcoded empty string.
	Fix: Updated Custom PSA email subject handling to use the configured notification template.
PSA & Integrations
Custom PSA	Summary: Prevented PSA tickets from being incorrectly closed when services are in Warning state.	NCCF-2228912
	Issue: The nightly maintenance job could close PSA tickets when a service transitioned to Warning state, leading to duplicate tickets on subsequent failures.
	Fix: Updated maintenance job logic to only close tickets when the associated service has returned to Normal state.
Halo PSA	Summary: Corrected Halo PSA errors when using device-only access groups.	NCCF-2389150
	Issue: Device-only access groups could generate system errors in Halo PSA integrations.
	Fix: Updated access validation logic to prevent integration failures.
Backups
Core	Summary: Corrected FTP backup process not deleting previous backups in subdirectories.	NCCF-2065449
	Issue: The backup process could fail to delete previous backup files on FTP servers when a target directory was configured.
	Fix: Updated FTP delete operations to include the correct directory path.
Reporting
Core	Summary: Resolved duplicate exports occurring from N-central to Report Manager.	NCCF-2414793
	Issue: N-central could trigger multiple duplicate export operations to Report Manager.
	Fix: Updated export processing to prevent duplicate exports from being initiated.
Core	Summary: Corrected discrepancies in Availability Report averages.	NCCF-2383561
	Issue: Availability reports could display inconsistent average values.
	Fix: Updated report calculation logic to provide consistent availability metrics.
User Interface & Configuration
Core	Summary: Corrected filter transfer operations that removed saved filter parameters.	NCCF-2126944
	Issue: Transferring filters to another user could delete the filter parameters.
	Fix: Updated filter transfer handling to preserve filter parameters during ownership changes.
Core	Summary: Corrected schedule sorting behaviour.	NCCF-2291678
	Issue: Sorting on schedule values could return incorrect or unexpected results.
	Fix: Updated schedule sorting logic to return consistent results.
Core	Summary: Corrected style variable inheritance in Branding.	NCCF-2419603
	Issue: Inherited branding style values did not display the expected default value after custom values were cleared.
	Fix: Updated branding style inheritance handling to apply the inherited value correctly.
Platform Support
Core	Summary: Added support for Windows Server 2019 Essentials.	NCCF-2063352
	Issue: Windows Server 2019 Essentials was not fully supported by the platform.
	Fix: Updated platform support validation and deployment handling.