Kiteworks lifts its precautionary shutdown: systems can come back online, self-hosted Advanced Forms users must call support

Kiteworks lifts its precautionary shutdown: systems can come back online, self-hosted Advanced Forms users must call support

27 September 2026 — Kiteworks, which sells a platform for exchanging sensitive files and email, has lifted the precautionary shutdown it asked customers to carry out last weekend. Its advisory, updated on 27 September 2026, says: "As of September 27th, the shutdown recommendation is now lifted for all customers. If you have not already restarted, you may bring your Kiteworks system back online." Computer Weekly reported on 28 September that the weekend had passed without incident. TrustList covered the original advisory on 27 September.

What happened

On 25 September Kiteworks asked customers who run their own systems to shut them down for a nine-hour window over the weekend, in their local time zone; it shut down the systems it hosts itself. It said at the time that it had no indication that its own or its customers' systems had been compromised and described the step as preventative. It asked customers to be on version 9.5.1, which it says addresses all known vulnerabilities.

Where things stand

• All systems Kiteworks hosts for customers are back up and operating normally, the company says.
• Self-managed customers can restart.
• Customers with self-hosted Advanced Forms should contact Kiteworks customer support for assistance before relying on that component. Germany's CERT-Bund listed a new high-severity advisory for Kiteworks Advanced Forms on 28 September.

What to do

• If your system is still off, confirm it is on 9.5.1 and restart it.
• If you use self-hosted Advanced Forms, contact Kiteworks support (support@kiteworks.com) before bringing that component back, and follow its instructions.
• Review access and transfer logs for the days before the shutdown, as part of normal incident hygiene, and keep a record of when the system was offline and restarted for your own regulators and customers.
• If your partners exchange files with you through Kiteworks, tell them the service is available again.

Sources

• Kiteworks: Precautionary shutdown advisory (update of 27 September) — 27 September 2026
• Computer Weekly: Kiteworks lifts shutdown order after incident-free weekend — 28 September 2026