GBHackers ranks NinjaOne, ManageEngine, and Automox atop twelve patch management tools for 2026, emphasizing third-party application coverage.
GBHackers scored twelve patch management platforms on coverage, automation, visibility, deployment, and value, with NinjaOne ranked highest at 4.55. Action1 is highlighted for its genuinely usable free tier, ManageEngine for third-party catalog breadth, and Automox for cloud-native cross-OS automation. The piece notes that unpatched known vulnerabilities remain a top initial-access vector, citing CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
Microsoft's September 2026 Patch Tuesday fixes a record 974 CVEs, including two actively exploited Windows zero-days, CVE-2026-85880 and CVE-2026-81963.
Microsoft fixed a record 974 CVEs in its September 2026 Patch Tuesday, surpassing the previous record of 570 in July 2026, with Windows affected by 723 flaws and Office by 111, including 119 critical vulnerabilities. Two zero-days are actively exploited: CVE-2026-85880, a 7.8 heap-based buffer overflow in Windows ALPC allowing AppContainer privilege escalation, and CVE-2026-81963, an improper link resolution flaw in the Windows Update Stack enabling local privilege escalation. Microsoft attributed the update surge partly to agentic AI tools used to discover zero-day vulnerabilities, and researchers highlighted critical RCE flaws in Windows DNS, DHCP and Deployment Services as priorities.
Roundup ranks 2026 patch management software, favoring Automox, Action1's free tier and Tanium, and warns buyers to vet patching platform security.
This buyer's guide ranks ten patch management tools for 2026, placing Automox first for cloud-native patching, Action1 for a genuinely free small-estate tier and Tanium for patching hundreds of thousands of endpoints. It contextualizes the category with the 2021 Kaseya VSA ransomware supply-chain incident and the 2020 SolarWinds Orion compromise, arguing the security of the patching platform itself must be part of evaluation. It also notes Ivanti products have repeatedly appeared in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
Microsoft's September 2026 Patch Tuesday ships 964 fixes including two exploited Windows zero-days (CVE-2026-85880, CVE-2026-81963) and a wormable DNS RCE.
Microsoft's September 2026 Patch Tuesday includes 964 Microsoft vulnerabilities requiring customer action, a record attributed to AI-assisted bug discovery, plus 174 third-party/open-source and 23 Chromium/Edge CVEs. Two zero-days are exploited in the wild: CVE-2026-85880, a Windows ALPC heap overflow enabling AppContainer sandbox escape and privilege escalation, and CVE-2026-81963, a Windows Update Stack escalation to SYSTEM. CVE-2026-69730, an unauthenticated Windows DNS RCE, is not yet exploited but Microsoft expects exploitation, and roughly 20 bugs could be wormable. Separately, SAP issued a critical CVSS 10.0 fix for the EPP component used in S/4HANA and NetWeaver.
Microsoft patches 974 flaws in record Patch Tuesday, including two actively exploited Windows zero-days enabling privilege escalation.
Microsoft's largest-ever Patch Tuesday addresses 974 vulnerabilities, with CVE-2026-81963 (Windows Update Stack) and CVE-2026-85880 (Windows Advanced Local Procedure Call) exploited before disclosure. Both zero-days carry CVSS 7.8 ratings and allow privilege escalation. More than 10% of the defects are rated critical, and researchers attribute the record volume to AI-assisted vulnerability discovery without a matching rise in active exploitation.
Heap-Based Buffer Overflow in Windows ALPC Enables Local Privilege Escalation
CVE-2026-85880 is a heap-based buffer overflow in Windows Advanced Local Procedure Call (ALPC), the Windows mechanism for local inter-process communication. An authorized local attacker can trigger the overflow by submitting crafted input over ALPC, corrupting heap memory in the component that handles the request. Successful exploitation allows the attacker to execute code with elevated privileges, typically gaining SYSTEM-level control of the local host, which is especially valuable as a post-exploitation or sandbox-escape step. Affected products include Windows 10 (1607, 1809, 21H2, 22H2) and Windows Server 2012, 2016, 2019, and 2022, meaning most on-premises Windows estates are in scope. The flaw was fixed in Microsoft's record 974-CVE September 2026 Patch Tuesday and was added to CISA's KEV on 2026-09-08, confirming exploitation in the wild; press reports describe Windows zero-days being chained with a Chrome zero-day in 'BlueMoon' kit attacks, though the data does not explicitly confirm this CVE is the Windows flaw in that chain.
· Microsoft Windows 10 1607, 1809, 21H2, 22H2 · Microsoft Windows Server 2012, 2016, 2019, 2022 KEVmass
Local Privilege Escalation via Link Following in Windows Update Stack
CVE-2026-81963 is a link-following flaw (CWE-59, improper link resolution before file access) in the Microsoft Windows Update Stack, in which the component fails to correctly resolve file links before opening them. A local attacker with low privileges can plant or manipulate a link (symlink/junction) that the privileged update stack follows during operation, redirecting its file access to an attacker-controlled target. The result is local privilege escalation — CVSS 3.1 rates this 7.8 (high) with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact — allowing an authorized local user or malware already on the machine to gain elevated rights. Affected products are Windows 11 23H2, 24H2, 25H2, and 26H1 and Windows Server 2025; any unpatched system on those versions is exposed to any local account holder. The flaw was fixed in Microsoft's record September 2026 Patch Tuesday (974 CVEs), was added to CISA's KEV on 2026-09-08 as one of two Windows zero-days reported as exploited in the wild, and has no known public PoC or confirmed ransomware use.
· Microsoft Windows 11 23H2, 24H2, 25H2, 26H1 · Microsoft Windows Server 2025 KEVmass
Pre-auth use-after-free RCE in Microsoft Windows Deployment Services (WDS)
Microsoft Windows Deployment Services (WDS) contains a use-after-free memory-safety flaw (CWE-416) that an unauthenticated attacker can trigger by sending crafted network traffic to the WDS service, leading to remote code execution on the target system. The vulnerability affects Windows 10 1607 and 1809 and Windows Server 2012, 2016, 2019, 2022, and 2025 on systems where WDS is deployed, a role typically used for network-based (PXE) operating system imaging. A successful exploit grants the attacker code execution with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact, reflected in the critical CVSS 3.1 score of 9.8 with network vector, low complexity, and no privileges or user interaction required. No public proof-of-concept, CISA KEV listing, or confirmed in-the-wild exploitation is currently known, although EPSS estimates a 2.7% probability of exploitation within 30 days (85th percentile). The flaw was disclosed alongside Microsoft's record September 2026 Patch Tuesday, which shipped nearly 1,000 fixes including two Windows zero-days.
· microsoft Windows 10 1607 · microsoft Windows 10 1809large
SAP Commerce Cloud allows an unauthenticated attacker to abuse a default authentication client and submit specially crafted input to certain functions lacking s
SAP Commerce Cloud allows an unauthenticated attacker to abuse a default authentication client and submit specially crafted input to certain functions lacking sufficient validation. Successful exploitation could enable arbitrary code execution and compromise internal components, resulting in high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the application.
CVE-2026-69730 is a use-after-free memory corruption flaw (CWE-416) in the Windows DNS service that allows an unauthenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary code by sending crafted network traffic to the affected system. Because the flaw is network-exploitable with no privileges or user interaction required (CVSS 3.1 9.8), any system running the vulnerable DNS service is a direct target. Successful exploitation would give the attacker code execution in the context of the DNS service, which on Windows Server typically runs with high privileges such as SYSTEM, and could enable wormable spread between vulnerable hosts. Affected organizations are those running the Windows DNS Server role — a component deployed on virtually all Windows Server domain controllers and on dedicated Windows DNS servers, especially those exposed to untrusted networks. As of the September 2026 Patch Tuesday release, there is no known public proof-of-concept, the flaw is not listed in CISA's KEV, and it has not been confirmed exploited in the wild, though it was flagged among roughly 20 'wormable' bugs and described in press coverage as a successor to the 2020 SigRed Windows DNS RCE.
· Microsoft Windows DNS Server role (Windows Server)mass
Unauthenticated RCE in Microsoft Windows Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS)
CVE-2026-69590 is a heap-based buffer overflow (CWE-122) in the Windows Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS) that allows remote code execution, rated 9.8 Critical with a network attack vector requiring no privileges or user interaction. An attacker can trigger the flaw by sending crafted network traffic to a system running the RRAS service, and successful exploitation grants unauthorized access and code execution on the victim machine with high impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Affected systems are Windows machines with the RRAS role/service enabled, typically servers used as VPN endpoints, routers, or NAT gateways; the specific affected Windows version ranges are not specified in the available data. The flaw was addressed in Microsoft's September 2026 Patch Tuesday release (September 8, 2026). There is no known exploitation in the wild, no public proof-of-concept, and it is not in CISA KEV, with EPSS estimating only a 1.0% chance of exploitation within 30 days (60th percentile).
· Microsoft Windows Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS)large
Unauthenticated Stack Buffer Overflow RCE in Windows DNS (CVE-2026-62878)
Windows DNS contains a stack-based buffer overflow (CWE-121) that an unauthenticated, network-adjacent or internet-reachable attacker can trigger by sending crafted input to the DNS service. Successful exploitation yields remote code execution on the target host, with high impact on confidentiality, integrity and availability (CVSS 3.1: 9.8). The flaw affects the DNS component shipped with Windows 10 1607 and 1809 and with Windows Server 2012, 2016, 2019, 2022 and 2025; systems running the DNS Server role, especially internet-facing DNS servers and domain controllers, are the primary targets. Microsoft, which assigned the CVE, has issued a fix, and the flaw appeared amid a record-sized run of Patch Tuesday releases. No in-the-wild exploitation is currently known: it is not in CISA's KEV, no public proof-of-concept is available, and EPSS estimates only a 1.3% probability of exploitation within 30 days.
· microsoft Windows 10 1607 · microsoft Windows 10 1809mass
Heap Buffer Overflow RCE in Microsoft Windows DHCP Server
CVE-2026-62823 is a heap-based buffer overflow (CWE-122) in the Windows DHCP Server service. Because DHCP is an unauthenticated protocol, a low-complexity attack is triggered by sending crafted DHCP traffic to the DHCP server from anywhere on an adjacent network segment (same LAN/broadcast domain) with no credentials or user interaction required. Successful exploitation yields remote code execution with high impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CVSS 3.1: 8.8), compromising the host running the DHCP role. Organizations running the DHCP Server role on Windows Server 2012, 2016, 2019, 2022, or 2025, or the listed Windows 10 1607/1809 builds, are affected; since DHCP servers typically sit on internal networks, the primary exposure is to untrusted devices (guests, BYOD, IoT) sharing those LANs rather than the public internet. There is no known exploitation, no public proof-of-concept, and no CISA KEV listing; EPSS is 0.7% (median), and the flaw was among the 974 fixes in Microsoft's record September 2026 Patch Tuesday.
· microsoft Windows 10 1607 · microsoft Windows 10 1809large
Use-After-Free RCE in Windows DNS (Windows 10 & Windows Server)
CVE-2026-65789 is a use-after-free memory-safety flaw (CWE-416) in the Windows DNS component, rated CVSS 8.1 High. An unauthenticated remote attacker can trigger it over the network by sending traffic to a system running the affected DNS service; the high attack complexity (AC:H) means exploitation depends on specific conditions rather than a simple request. Successful exploitation yields remote code execution in the DNS service context, with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact on the host. Affected systems are Windows 10 1607 and 1809 (the long-term servicing branches) and Windows Server 2016, 2019, 2022, and 2025. There is no known public proof-of-concept, the flaw is not in CISA's KEV catalog, and EPSS puts 30-day exploitation probability at 0.5% (44th percentile); the fix appears to have shipped amid Microsoft's record September 2026 Patch Tuesday, which resolved 974 CVEs.
· microsoft Windows 10 1607 1607 · microsoft Windows 10 1809 1809mass
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