Search: “Windows Server 2016”

Microsoft: September updates cause RDS failures on Windows Server

Microsoft confirms September 2026 Patch Tuesday updates break Remote Desktop Services on Windows Server 2012+; Group Policy mitigations and rollback workarounds available.

Microsoft confirmed that September 2026 Patch Tuesday security updates cause Remote Desktop Services failures on Windows Server 2012 and later, plus Windows 10 and Windows 11. Symptoms include unstable RDS, RDP connection failures after several minutes, sign-in issues, servers hanging at 'Please wait for the Remote Desktop Configuration,' and unresponsive MMC, RDS Licensing Diagnoser, and File Explorer. Microsoft published per-version Group Policy mitigations (covering KBs such as KB5124008, KB5122880, KB5122878, KB5122871, KB5122882, KB5122876, KB5123099, KB5123065, KB5123066) and suggests restarting affected VMs. Rolling back the updates restores RDS functionality but removes this month's security fixes.

BleepingComputer·updated Sep 15, 08:40 UTC · 1d ago·first Sep 14, 09:50 UTC · 2d agoAdvisory 3 sources1

September Windows Server updates break Remote Desktop Services

September 2026 Windows Server cumulative updates cause Remote Desktop Services failures on Server 2019, 2022 and 2025, forcing some admins to roll back.

Admins report Remote Desktop Services failures after installing September 2026 Patch Tuesday updates KB5122876 (Server 2019), KB5122882 (Server 2022), and KB5122871 (Server 2025), with connections hanging, sessions failing after logout, and some systems requiring hard resets. One administrator debugging Server 2022 observed an apparent deadlock between RDP and the Local Session Manager, though Microsoft has not confirmed a root cause. Rolling back the updates restores RDS functionality but removes this month's security fixes. Microsoft had not responded to inquiries at publication time.

BleepingComputer·updated Sep 11, 04:46 UTC · 5d ago·first Sep 10, 20:34 UTC · 6d agoVulnerability 2 sources1

September 2026 Microsoft Patch Tuesday, (Tue, Sep 8th)

Microsoft's September 2026 Patch Tuesday fixes a record 973 vulnerabilities, including 113 critical and two Windows privilege-escalation flaws already exploited in the wild.

Microsoft patched 973 vulnerabilities this month, its largest Patch Tuesday ever and far above the previous record of 664 set in July 2026, with 113 rated critical. Two Important elevation-of-privilege flaws (CVSS 7.8) are confirmed exploited in the wild: CVE-2026-81963 in the Windows Update Stack (improper link resolution, affects Windows 11 and Server 2025) and CVE-2026-85880 in Windows ALPC (heap-based buffer overflow allowing sandbox escape to SYSTEM, affects Windows 10 and Server 2012-2022). Critical unauthenticated RCEs (CVSS 9.8) were also fixed in Skype for Business Server (CVE-2026-66302), Windows Message Queuing (CVE-2026-69579), and Windows RRAS (CVE-2026-69590). SANS urges prioritizing the two exploited EoP fixes, then patching exposed MSMQ, RRAS, and Skype for Business deployments.

SANS Internet Storm Center·Sep 8, 19:20 UTC · 8d agoVulnerability in the wildCVE-2026-81963CVE-2026-85880CVE-2026-66302+5 CVEs1

2026-007: Critical Vulnerability in Windows Netlogon

Actively exploited CVSS 9.8 Windows Netlogon flaw lets unauthenticated attackers execute code with SYSTEM privileges on domain controllers.

Microsoft's May 2026 advisory describes CVE-2026-41089, a stack-based buffer overflow in Windows Netlogon (CVSS 9.8) that allows unauthenticated remote code execution with SYSTEM privileges on domain controllers via specially crafted packets. The Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium reports the flaw is currently being exploited by threat actors. All Windows Server versions from 2012 through 2025 acting as domain controllers are affected and require the May updates.

CERT-EU Advisories·Sep 8, 15:13 UTC · 8d agoExploit / PoC in the wildCVE-2026-410891

CVE-2026-50522: Microsoft SharePoint Server RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2026-50522 is an unauthenticated .NET deserialization RCE in SharePoint Server Subscription, 2019, and 2016; Microsoft patched it July 14, 2026.

CVE-2026-50522 (CWE-502) lets unauthenticated attackers send crafted serialized .NET payloads to network-accessible SharePoint endpoints, triggering gadget-chain deserialization and remote code execution under the privileged SharePoint service account. It affects SharePoint Server Subscription Edition, SharePoint Server 2019, and SharePoint Server 2016 Enterprise; Microsoft published the advisory on July 14, 2026. The EPSS score is 20.346%, but no public PoC exists and the flaw is not in CISA's KEV catalog at publication. Mitigations include applying Microsoft updates, rotating SharePoint machine keys, enabling AMSI, and restricting internet exposure.

Web discovery (articles for new exploits & KEV entries)·Sep 7, 19:42 UTC · 9d agoVulnerability 3 sourcesCVE-2026-505221

Windows Remote Desktop Client Vulnerability Allows Attackers to Execute Remote Code

Microsoft patched CVE-2026-69485, an 8.8 CVSS RCE flaw in the Windows Remote Desktop Client affecting Windows 10/11 and Server 2016-2025.

Microsoft's September 2026 updates fix CVE-2026-69485, an Important-rated remote code execution vulnerability (CVSS 3.1: 8.8, temporal 7.7) in the Windows Remote Desktop Client caused by use of an uninitialized resource. An authenticated attacker with low privileges could send a specially crafted network request to execute code on an affected server, with no user interaction required. Microsoft says the flaw was not publicly disclosed before patching and rates exploitation as 'Less Likely' with no evidence of active exploitation. Affected products span Windows Server 2016, 2019, 2022 and 2025 and Windows 10 (1607-22H2) and Windows 11 (23H2-26H1), with fixes delivered via KBs including KB5123099, KB5122876 and KB5122882.

Cyber Security News·Sep 9, 10:10 UTC · 7d agoVulnerabilityCVE-2026-69485

Windows Server 2022 reaches end of mainstream support next month

Microsoft says Windows Server 2022 ends mainstream support on October 13, 2026, entering extended security updates through October 14, 2031.

Windows Server 2022, the September 2021 Long-Term Servicing Channel release, will receive its last mainstream support update with the October 2026 security patch. After October 13, 2026, it transitions to extended support with free monthly security updates through October 14, 2031. Microsoft also extended hotpatching for Datacenter: Azure Edition until October 2027 and recommends upgrading to Windows Server 2025, the current LTSC release.

BleepingComputer·09:10 UTC · 11h agoIndustry

August updates trigger 0xc0000409 errors on Windows Server 2016

Microsoft says the August 2026 security update causes recurring CompatTelRunner.exe 0xc0000409 crashes on Windows Server 2016 with Compatibility Appraiser enabled; no functional impact.

Microsoft confirmed a known issue in which the August 2026 Windows security update generates recurring Application Error events (Event ID 1000, exception code 0xc0000409) in CompatTelRunner.exe on Windows Server 2016. The issue affects physical and virtual machines, including VMware and Azure environments, and per Microsoft does not affect device functionality. A permanent fix is planned for a future update, and the event log entries can be dismissed temporarily.

BleepingComputer·Sep 8, 15:22 UTC · 8d agoAdvisory

Microsoft security advisory – September 2026 monthly rollup (AV26-896) – Update 1

Canada's Cyber Centre relays Microsoft's September 2026 rollup; CISA added exploited zero-days CVE-2026-85880 and CVE-2026-81963 to KEV.

Advisory AV26-896 from the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security summarizes Microsoft's September 2026 monthly security rollup, listing affected products across Windows, Office, .NET, Azure, Exchange and SQL Server. It notes Microsoft confirmed CVE-2026-81963 and CVE-2026-85880 have been exploited. On September 8, 2026, CISA added both CVEs to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, and administrators are urged to apply the updates.

Canadian Centre for Cyber Security·Sep 8, 19:03 UTC · 8d agoAdvisory in the wildCVE-2026-81963CVE-2026-858801

AD Rights Management Service (Part 1): Architecture, Deprecation, and Reconnaissance

Huntress maps AD RMS architecture and recon paths, setting up an offline key-extraction attack against its unrotatable 255-year root key.

Huntress's multi-part research examines Active Directory Rights Management Services, Microsoft's enterprise DRM role that still ships in Windows Server 2025 despite migration guidance favoring Azure Information Protection. Part 1 covers the trust model and how an ordinary domain account can locate RMS clusters and read rights-policy templates. Part 2 will detail four independent paths for extracting the Server Licensor Certificate (SLC) private key via service-group membership and the configuration database, enabling fully offline decryption of protected documents. The SLC certificate is valid from 2002 to 2258 and has no key-rotation mechanism, so a stolen key decrypts protected content indefinitely.

Huntress·Sep 8, 04:00 UTC · 8d agoResearch1

Microsoft: Windows Server 2025 changes causing app crashes

Microsoft warns Windows Server 2025 memory-management changes crash AWE apps, including SQL Server with Lock Pages in Memory; disable LPIM as workaround.

Microsoft confirmed a known issue where Windows Server 2025 memory-management changes cause access violations, memory corruption, or unexpected termination in applications using Address Windowing Extensions (AWE). SQL Server running with the Lock Pages in Memory (LPIM) policy is affected, with symptoms including 0xC0000005 access violations, DBCC CHECKDB failures, crash dumps, and services stopping or restarting unexpectedly. Microsoft's temporary workaround is to disable the LPIM policy for the SQL Server service account or disable AWE in other affected apps, with a permanent fix promised in a future Windows update.

BleepingComputer·Sep 8, 11:57 UTC · 8d agoAdvisory1

Windows BitLocker Vulnerability Allows Attackers to Execute Malicious Code Remotely

Microsoft patched CVE-2026-69449, a heap-based buffer overflow in Windows BitLocker enabling code execution, affecting Windows 10/11 and Server 2012-2025 in September 2026 updates.

Microsoft disclosed CVE-2026-69449, a heap-based buffer overflow in Windows BitLocker rated Important, which could allow an authorized attacker to execute arbitrary code locally, with possible in-network exploitation via arbitrary endpoint calls. Microsoft rates exploitation as Less Likely and there was no public disclosure or in-the-wild exploitation at release. The flaw affects Windows 10 (1607-22H2), Windows 11 (23H2-26H1), and Windows Server 2012 through 2025, including Server Core. Fixes shipped in the September 2026 Patch Tuesday cumulative updates via platform-specific KBs such as KB5124012 and KB5122871.

Cyber Security News·Sep 9, 08:51 UTC · 7d agoVulnerabilityCVE-2026-694491

Weekly Cybersecurity Newsletter Bulletin – Microsoft 0-day, FortiOS, PAN-OS Flaw, Revolut Data Breach, and 20+ Stories

Weekly roundup: Microsoft patches 973 flaws including two actively exploited zero-days; FortiOS CAPWAP flaw deploys PivotC2 RAT; PAN-OS root RCE disclosed.

Microsoft's September 2026 Patch Tuesday fixed 973 vulnerabilities, including two zero-days under active exploitation: CVE-2026-85880 (Windows ALPC) and CVE-2026-81963 (Windows Update Stack), both elevation-of-privilege bugs. SOCRadar reported active exploitation of CVE-2025-25249 (CVSS 9.8) in FortiOS CAPWAP, deploying a Node.js RAT called PivotC2 that exfiltrates Exchange mailboxes to Wasabi cloud storage; 178 devices were compromised out of 30,000 scanned IPs, attributed to a Russian-speaking financially motivated group. Palo Alto disclosed CVE-2026-0310, a 9.2-rated buffer overflow enabling root code execution on PA-Series firewalls, and Fortinet disclosed CVE-2026-84393, a ZTNA certificate validation MITM flaw. Cyera also revealed CVE-2026-6471 ('PostGREShell'), a 12-year-old PostgreSQL logical-decoding flaw allowing code execution via REPLICATION-privileged accounts.

Cyber Security News·Sep 14, 03:10 UTC · 2d agoExploit / PoC in the wildCVE-2026-85880CVE-2026-81963CVE-2025-25249+3 CVEs3

Microsoft Patch Tuesday, September 2026 Security Update Review

Microsoft's September 2026 Patch Tuesday fixes 974 vulnerabilities, including 113 critical and two actively exploited Windows privilege escalation flaws.

Microsoft's September 2026 Patch Tuesday fixes 974 vulnerabilities, its largest release ever, including 113 critical and 860 important, covering Windows HTTP.sys, Hyper-V, Entra ID, Exchange Server, Office, DNS, and more. Two zero-days are confirmed exploited in the wild: CVE-2026-81963 (Windows Update Stack EoP) and CVE-2026-85880 (ALPC heap overflow), both letting authenticated attackers gain SYSTEM privileges. Notable criticals include an Entra ID authentication bypass (CVE-2026-62916) and multiple Windows DNS Server and Office remote code execution flaws.

Qualys ThreatPROTECT·Sep 9, 12:23 UTC · 7d agoVulnerability in the wildCVE-2026-81963CVE-2026-85880CVE-2026-58599+27 CVEs

Incident response statistics and cases at educational institutions in Brazil

Kaspersky Securelist·Aug 3, 13:00 UTC · Aug 3, 2026Ransomware

September 2026 Patch Tuesday roundup: Plugs for two zero day holes among almost 1,000 fixes in Windows

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.

CSO Online·Sep 9, 03:27 UTC · 7d agoVulnerability in the wildCVE-2026-85880CVE-2026-81963CVE-2026-69730+2 CVEs1

September 2026 Patch Tuesday: Record patch count, 2 zero-days, and a SigRed successor

Microsoft's September 2026 Patch Tuesday delivers a record patch count, fixing two exploited zero-days and a wormable DNS flaw dubbed a SigRed successor.

Microsoft's September 2026 Patch Tuesday sets another record patch count, fixing two vulnerabilities exploited as zero-days: CVE-2026-81963, a Windows Update Stack low-privilege-to-SYSTEM escalation reported by MSTIC, and CVE-2026-85880, a Windows Advanced Local Procedure Call escalation reported by Proofpoint. Zero Day Initiative's Dustin Childs urges priority on a cluster of 20 potentially wormable bugs including DNS RCE CVE-2026-69730, described as a spiritual successor to SigRed, plus Kerberos authentication bypass CVE-2026-69676 that could give any authenticated domain user RCE on domain controllers, and Exchange RCE CVE-2026-55007 via a malicious Visio attachment. All Windows fixes are bundled in cumulative updates, and experts stress prioritizing exploitable, reachable flaws over raw patch counts.

Help Net Security·Sep 9, 09:04 UTC · 7d agoAdvisory in the wildCVE-2026-81963CVE-2026-85880CVE-2026-69730+4 CVEs

xHunt Campaign: New PowerShell Backdoor Blocked Through DNS Tunnel Detection

xHunt's new CASHY200 PowerShell backdoor used DNS tunneling for C2; DNS security blocked beaconing at a Kuwait organization in September 2019.

Unit 42 describes CASHY200, a new PowerShell-based backdoor tied to the xHunt campaign that communicates with its C2 server windows64x[.]com via DNS tunneling, parsing commands from DNS answers. In September 2019, a Kuwait-based organization's DNS security service blocked the beaconing minutes after detection, cutting off adversary access. Samples dating to May and June 2018 and open source collection suggest the tool was used against Kuwait government organizations from spring 2018 through 2019, with malicious Word documents observed installing CASHY200 payloads configured with C2 domains such as firewallsupports[.]com and winx64-microsoft[.]com. The tool's name derives from identifiers stored under the registry key HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Cashe and the command value 200.

Palo Alto Unit 42·Aug 17, 13:19 UTC · Aug 17, 2026Threat actor

Top 10 Best Server Security Solutions in 2026

Cyber Security News ranks 2026 server security platforms, favoring Trend Micro for hybrid estates, CrowdStrike for detection, Defender for Azure economics.

Cyber Security News published an editorial ranking of ten server security platforms for 2026, favoring Trend Micro for hybrid estates, CrowdStrike for detection quality, and Microsoft Defender for Servers for Azure-centric economics. The guide stresses that server security licensing differs (per server, per core, or per cloud-hour) and flags hypervisor protection as a commonly missed coverage gap.

Cyber Security News·Sep 10, 08:23 UTC · 6d agoIndustry1

Microsoft Patches Record 974 Vulnerabilities, Including Two Exploited Zero-Days

Microsoft's September 2026 Patch Tuesday fixes a record 974 CVEs, including two Windows zero-days exploited in the wild for privilege escalation.

Microsoft patched 974 vulnerabilities, its largest Patch Tuesday ever, including CVE-2026-85880, a heap buffer overflow in Windows ALPC allowing AppContainer sandbox escape to System, and CVE-2026-81963, a link-following flaw in the Windows Update Stack enabling local privilege escalation. Both were exploited as zero-days before the patch. ZDI's Dustin Childs says 20 of the fixed flaws are wormable, enabling unauthenticated remote code execution. The release also covers 723 Windows flaws and 222 Office bugs, plus fixes in Exchange, SharePoint, SQL Server, Azure and Exchange Server RCE (CVE-2026-55007).

SecurityWeek·Sep 8, 19:20 UTC · 8d agoExploit / PoC in the wildCVE-2026-85880CVE-2026-81963CVE-2026-55007+5 CVEs1

Microsoft Patch Tuesday Update September 2026 – 974 Vulnerabilities Fixed, Including 2 Zero-Days

Microsoft's September 2026 Patch Tuesday fixes 974 vulnerabilities across Windows and Office, including two actively exploited Windows privilege-escalation zero-days.

Microsoft's September 2026 Patch Tuesday addresses 974 vulnerabilities spanning Windows, Office, SQL Server, SharePoint, Exchange, Azure, and developer tools. Two Windows zero-days are confirmed exploited in attacks: CVE-2026-85880, a Windows ALPC elevation-of-privilege flaw, and CVE-2026-81963, a Windows Update Stack privilege-escalation flaw involving link following. The release also includes Critical fixes for Windows Secure Kernel Mode, VBS Enclave, Excel, and Word.

Cyber Security News·Sep 8, 17:46 UTC · 8d agoVulnerability in the wildCVE-2026-85880CVE-2026-81963CVE-2026-83939+15 CVEs1

Hackers Use Cross-Platform Noodle RAT to Secretly Control Windows and Linux Systems

Check Point identifies Noodle RAT as a distinct cross-platform Windows/Linux backdoor used by Chinese-speaking actors against Asia-Pacific organizations since 2016.

Check Point assesses Noodle RAT, also known as ANGRYREBEL, as a distinct backdoor family rather than a variant of Gh0st RAT or Rekoobe, with separate Windows (Win.NOODLERAT) and Linux (Linux.NOODLERAT) variants sharing a common command-and-control design. The Windows implant runs filelessly via shellcode with loaders like MULTIDROP and MICROLOAD, while the Linux variant provides reverse shells, file management, and SOCKS tunneling after exploitation or web-shell placement on exposed servers. Groups including Iron Tiger, Calypso APT, Rocke, and Cloud Snooper have deployed it against organizations in Thailand, India, Japan, Malaysia, and Taiwan. Check Point released sample hashes and C2 IP indicators alongside the analysis.

Cyber Security News·14:03 UTC · 6h agoMalware in the wild 2 sources

Microsoft Plugs Nearly 1,000 Security Holes

Microsoft's September Patch Tuesday fixes a record 974 flaws, including two actively exploited Windows zero-days and critical DNS and Windows Shell bugs.

Microsoft released fixes for 974 vulnerabilities, its largest-ever monthly patch batch, bringing the 2026 total above 2,600. Two zero-day privilege elevation flaws, CVE-2026-81963 and CVE-2026-85880, are being actively exploited. Critical bugs include CVE-2026-69730, an unauthenticated DNS weakness in Windows Server 2012 onward and Windows 10 deemed likely to be exploited, and CVE-2026-69829, a CVSS 9.8 Windows Shell remote code execution flaw requiring no privileges or user interaction. Microsoft and other vendors credit AI-assisted discovery for the growing patch volumes.

Krebs on Security·Sep 8, 21:44 UTC · 7d agoVulnerability in the wildCVE-2026-81963CVE-2026-85880CVE-2026-69730+1 CVEs

12 Best Server Security Solutions Compared (2026): Features & Pricing

GBHackers ranks 12 server security solutions for 2026, naming CrowdStrike and SentinelOne as server EDR leaders and Trend Micro Deep Security top for virtual patching.

The guide scores 12 server security platforms across five weighted criteria, with detection and response depth and Linux parity weighted 25% each. CrowdStrike and SentinelOne lead server EDR, Trend Micro Deep Security is highlighted for virtual patching of unpatchable estates, and Microsoft Defender for Servers is noted for Azure and hybrid economics. It is an editorial assessment comparing features and pricing models rather than a lab test.

GBHackers·updated 09:52 UTC · 10h ago·first Sep 11, 07:24 UTC · 5d agoIndustry 14 sources1

Researchers Disclose AI-Assisted SharePoint Exploit Chain Reaching Unauthenticated RCE

Rapid7 disclosed CVE-2026-55040, a SharePoint JWT validation bypass chaining into CVE-2026-63520 unauthenticated RCE, with research substantially AI-agent-assisted; patches released.

Rapid7 disclosed CVE-2026-55040 (CVSS 9.1), several JWT validation pipeline issues letting unauthenticated attackers impersonate chosen SharePoint users by SID or UPN, chained with CVE-2026-63520 (CVSS 8.1), an unsafe .NET type instantiation in Business Connectivity Services yielding RCE as the service account. An AI agent contributed significantly across 96 sessions and roughly 80,000 tool calls over 24 active days, though an expert had to steer it and it repeatedly overstepped its threat model. No exploitation of the bypass had been reported as of CISA's July 14 assessment. The RCE affects SharePoint Subscription Edition, 2019, and 2016, plus Project Server 2013 SP1 and Office Web Apps 2013 SP1; the July updates break the chain.

The Hacker News·Aug 11, 16:49 UTC · Aug 11, 2026VulnerabilityCVE-2026-55040CVE-2026-635201

The hidden work of modernizing Malwarebytes

Malwarebytes details its migration of Windows product managed components to .NET 10, citing security, supportability, diagnostics, and performance benefits.

Malwarebytes says it migrated the managed portions of Malwarebytes for Windows to .NET 10 while leaving native drivers and the detection engine untouched. The vendor cites a supported runtime, safer defaults, stronger cryptography, better diagnostics, and JIT/GC performance improvements as benefits. The migration also deprecated Windows 7 support, and the company applies staged rollouts and automated validation because its code runs with elevated privileges on millions of endpoints. No vulnerabilities or incidents are described.

Malwarebytes Labs·Sep 4, 17:15 UTC · 12d agoIndustry1

Understanding Angler Exploit Kit

Unit 42 explains exploit kit fundamentals, describing how landing pages profile victims, deliver exploits, and install malware payloads on Windows hosts.

Unit 42 published a primer on exploit kit fundamentals, defining vulnerabilities, exploits, malware payloads, actors, and campaigns in EK-based attacks. It explains the infection chain: a landing page profiles the victim's Windows system for vulnerable applications such as Flash Player, Java, Silverlight, and Internet Explorer, then a matching exploit executes a downloader or final payload, often delivered encrypted with XOR or RC4. The post also describes the EK-as-a-Service business model, in which leading EKs are rented for a few thousand dollars per month while buyers supply campaign infrastructure.

Palo Alto Unit 42·Aug 17, 09:50 UTC · Aug 17, 2026Research1

Extradited Russian Hacker Faces Charges Over Excel Malware Campaign That Infected Thousands

US DoJ charged extradited Russian Searzhudin Aktulaev for a 2016-2017 Excel macro campaign infecting ~80,000 freelance platform users with TVRAT and DarkVNC.

Searzhudin Tamirlanovich Aktulaev, 40, was arrested in Cyprus in May 2025 and extradited to the US on August 28, facing charges including wire fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft. The indictment alleges ~255 fake freelance-platform accounts were used to send Excel macro attachments to about 80,000 users in 2016-2017, deploying TVRAT (TeamSpy/TVSPY) and DarkVNC RATs for remote access and data theft. Thousands of infected machines called back to a US-hosted C2 domain, with stolen credentials and PII stored in the shared email account used in the scheme.

The Hacker News·Sep 2, 09:10 UTC · 14d agoPolicy & legal

Microsoft posts nearly 1,000 bugs for Patch Tuesday as CISA warns two being exploited

CISA confirms exploitation of two Windows zero-days among 973 Microsoft patches; 22,000 Exchange servers remain unpatched.

Microsoft's September Patch Tuesday sets a record with 973 vulnerabilities, and CISA confirms CVE-2026-81963 and CVE-2026-85880 are being exploited, giving federal agencies until September 22 to patch. Nightwing estimates over 22,000 corporate Exchange servers are unpatched against weaponized exploit code. Analysts describe CVE-2026-81963 as an early link in ransomware chains where phishing leads to privilege escalation, and note year-to-date Microsoft disclosures exceed 2,600 bugs.

The Record·Sep 8, 22:40 UTC · 7d agoExploit / PoC in the wildCVE-2026-81963CVE-2026-85880

SharePoint RCE CVE-2026-45659 Added to CISA KEV After Active Exploitation

CISA adds actively exploited SharePoint RCE CVE-2026-45659 (CVSS 8.8) to KEV; an August 11 update confirms ransomware groups are exploiting the flaw.

CVE-2026-45659 is a deserialization of untrusted data RCE in Microsoft SharePoint Server affecting Subscription Edition, 2019, and 2016, patched by Microsoft in May 2026. An authenticated attacker with at least Site Member permissions can execute code remotely over the network. CISA added the flaw to its KEV catalog on July 2 with a July 4 deadline for federal agencies, and on August 11 confirmed ransomware groups are exploiting it. Microsoft separately described Storm-2603 (Warlock ransomware) and an unrelated actor co-existing in one network, with initial access likely via the Gladinet Triofox flaw CVE-2025-11371 (CVSS 9.1).

The Hacker News·Aug 12, 13:46 UTC · Aug 12, 2026Exploit / PoC in the wildCVE-2026-45659CVE-2025-113711

Microsoft Exchange Vulnerability CVE-2026-62911: What Administrators Should Do and How Zscaler Can Help

High-severity authentication bypass CVE-2026-62911 in Exchange Server has public exploit code; about 22,000 servers remain unpatched and internet-exposed.

Microsoft's August 2026 Patch Tuesday fixed CVE-2026-62911 (CVSS 8.0), an authentication bypass affecting Exchange Server 2016, 2019 and Subscription Edition. Successful exploitation lets an attacker with basic privileges take over all mailboxes on the targeted server, including reading and sending email and downloading attachments. As of September 1, Shadowserver identified roughly 22,000 unpatched, internet-exposed Exchange servers, including about 6,200 in the US and 5,100 in Germany. NCSC-NL confirmed working exploit code is publicly available, while CISA has not yet reported exploitation in the wild.

Zscaler ThreatLabz·Sep 3, 20:19 UTC · 13d agoVulnerabilityCVE-2026-629112

Afraidgate: Major Exploit Kit Campaign Switches from CryptXXX Ransomware Back to Locky

The Afraidgate exploit kit campaign stopped distributing CryptXXX and now delivers the .zepto Locky variant exclusively through Neutrino EK since July 2016.

By mid-July 2016, the Afraidgate campaign switched from CryptXXX ransomware to consistently delivering the .zepto (Zepto) variant of Locky, using the Neutrino exploit kit after Angler EK disappeared in early June 2016. The campaign starts from compromised websites with injected scripts that redirect to Afraidgate domains and then Neutrino EK landing pages on .top domains. Zepto emerged after the Necurs botnet returned from a three-week outage, bringing new anti-sandboxing and evasion techniques.

Palo Alto Unit 42·Aug 17, 09:47 UTC · Aug 17, 2026Ransomware in the wild

Microsoft Patch Tuesday for August 2026 Fixed a Zero

Microsoft's August 2026 Patch Tuesday fixes 398 CVEs, including an actively exploited WinSock zero-day CVE-2026-68820 and wormable DNS RCE CVE-2026-62878.

Microsoft's August 2026 Patch Tuesday addresses 398 CVEs across Windows, Office, Azure, Exchange Server, SharePoint, Teams, .NET and other products, with 62 rated Critical. The actively exploited CVE-2026-68820 is a use-after-free in the Windows WinSock afd.sys driver that can yield SYSTEM privileges via a race condition. CVE-2026-62878 is a critical, wormable stack buffer overflow in Windows DNS Server allowing unauthenticated, remote code execution without user interaction. Other notable fixes include WDS TFTP RCE CVE-2026-62893, a QUIC flaw affecting roughly 13.5 million sites (CVE-2026-62815), an Exchange authentication bypass EoP demonstrated at Pwn2Own Berlin (CVE-2026-62911), and two TPM 2.0 reference implementation fixes.

Security Affairs·Aug 12, 06:49 UTC · Aug 12, 2026Advisory in the wildCVE-2026-68820CVE-2026-62878CVE-2026-62893+5 CVEs

Decline in Rig Exploit Kit

Rig exploit kit activity dropped roughly 75% after the pseudo-Darkleech and EITest campaigns stopped using EKs, reflecting an overall decline in exploit kit activity.

Rig EK activity fell sharply in 2017: the pseudo-Darkleech campaign disappeared at the end of March, cutting Rig traffic about 50%, and the EITest campaign switched to tech support scams in late April, cutting another 50% in May. Broader causes include a shrinking browser target base, no major EK zero-day in over a year, and community takedowns of domain shadowing infrastructure. Criminals are shifting to malspam, social engineering schemes like fake HoeflerText notifications, and tech support scams.

Palo Alto Unit 42·Aug 17, 09:31 UTC · Aug 17, 2026Exploit / PoC in the wild1

Microsoft security advisory – August 2026 monthly rollup (AV26-804) – Update 2

Canada's Cyber Centre updated advisory AV26-804 relaying Microsoft's August 2026 monthly rollup of vulnerabilities across .NET and Azure products.

The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security advisory AV26-804, updated August 27, 2026, relays Microsoft's August 2026 monthly security rollup originally issued August 11. Affected products include .NET 8.0, 9.0, and 10.0 on Linux, macOS, and Windows, plus many Azure services. Listed Azure components include Azure Kubernetes Service, Azure SQL Database, Azure Service Bus, Azure Active Directory, Azure Logic Apps, and Azure Monitor Agent.

Canadian Centre for Cyber Security·Aug 27, 17:23 UTC · 20d agoAdvisory1

Analysis of Smoke Loader in New Tsunami Campaign

Fake Japanese Meteorological Agency tsunami warning emails delivered Smoke Loader and AzoRult malware to steal credentials from targets in Japan.

A fake tsunami warning email impersonating Japan's Meteorological Agency asked recipients to click a link on a registered fake agency domain, delivering the commodity loader Smoke Loader to targets in Japan. Smoke Loader, active since 2011, is modular, and its payloads have included banking trojans, ransomware, cryptominers, password stealers, and PoS malware; the campaign later also deployed AzoRult. New samples add junk-jump obfuscation, encrypted network traffic and payload files, a unique machine ID used for tracking and encryption, and PROPagate injection into explorer.exe, with persistence via a Startup folder shortcut and RC4-encrypted C2 communication.

Palo Alto Unit 42·Aug 17, 12:54 UTC · Aug 17, 2026Malware in the wild

Upatre Continued to Evolve with new Anti

Unit 42 analyzes an undocumented Upatre downloader variant with VM detection via process hashing, packed code, disabled Windows defenses and Namecoin .bit C2 domains.

Unit 42 analyzed an Upatre downloader variant compiled in December 2016 that went largely undetected by automated systems, featuring heavy code flow obscuration, on-demand decryption of network communications, and novel virtual machine detection. The sample enumerates running processes, computes CRC32 hashes XORed with a hard-coded key, and sleeps if analysis-related processes such as vmtoolsd.exe or python.exe are found. It masquerades with Google Chrome icons, disables Windows Defender, Firewall and other security services, injects code into msiexec.exe, and resolves .bit Namecoin domains like bookreader[.]bit via hardcoded OpenNIC DNS servers over TCP.

Palo Alto Unit 42·Aug 17, 13:23 UTC · Aug 17, 2026Malware1

Microsoft's August 2026 Patch Tuesday addresses 398 CVEs (CVE-2026-68820)

Tenable reports Microsoft's August 2026 Patch Tuesday addresses 398 CVEs including three zero-days, one exploited in the wild (CVE-2026-68820).

Microsoft patched 398 CVEs in its August 2026 Patch Tuesday release, with 42 rated critical, 355 important, and one moderate, and three zero-days among them. One zero-day is confirmed as exploited in the wild. The release covers components including .NET, .NET Framework, Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS), Azure services, and Windows. Tenable's count omits two CVEs assigned by MITRE, CVE-2026-6726 and CVE-2026-6727.

Tenable Blog·Aug 11, 18:04 UTC · Aug 11, 2026Vulnerability in the wildCVE-2026-68820CVE-2026-6726CVE-2026-67271

Risky Bulletin: Russia tells data centers to deploy drone defenses

Russia ordered data center operators to deploy drone strike defenses under a Putin decree allowing temporary state takeover of unprotected critical infrastructure.

The Russian government instructed data center operators to deploy protections against drone strikes under a presidential decree signed by Putin that allows temporary state administration of critical infrastructure operators failing to defend against Ukrainian hacks and drone strikes. Although data centers are not formally critical infrastructure in Russia, the decree applies to them because other sectors depend heavily on cloud services; Russia has more than 180 data centers, over 80% in the European region within range of Ukrainian strikes. The digest also reports a Dropbox breach affecting nearly 5,000 accounts via the Lenovo ID integration, spyware attacks on at least 14 Serbians using NoviSpy or Pegasus, and a password recovery attack targeting hundreds of thousands of X accounts tied to the new X Money service. Other items include a 14-hour compromise of Coder's Cloudflare infrastructure delivering malicious Terraform modules, donor data breaches at Davayte and You Are Not Alone via the Stripe/WooCommerce integration, a $2.5M Aquifer crypto heist, and a TVING breach exposing data of almost 40 million accounts.

Risky Business News·Sep 4, 03:02 UTC · 12d agoPolicy & legal

August 2026 Patch Tuesday forecast: How do we deal with the patch apocalypse?

August 2026 Patch Tuesday forecast urges risk-based triage as AI inflates CVE volume, flags actively exploited SharePoint RCE CVE-2026-50522 and LegacyHive Windows flaw.

July 2026 Patch Tuesday set records with over 600 CVEs, including 405 for Windows 11 and Server 2025, though only two were exploited zero-days and one was publicly disclosed. The author recommends prioritizing known-exploited and internet-facing vulnerabilities, matching patches to high-risk systems, and accelerating ring-based deployment toward Microsoft's suggested three-day turnaround. Notable items include actively exploited SharePoint RCE CVE-2026-50522 enabling machine key theft, the unassigned LegacyHive Windows User Profile Service flaw, and several end-of-servicing dates for Windows and Exchange.

Help Net Security·Aug 25, 06:52 UTC · 22d agoIndustry in the wildCVE-2026-505221