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Microsoft shipped February Patch Tuesday updates for Windows 10 and Windows 11 that include security and reliability fixes, including remediation for six actively exploited zero-days and two critical vulnerabilities, alongside continued updates to Secure Boot certificates ahead of upcoming certificate expirations intended to help maintain protection against bootkit-style threats. The release also addresses non-security defects, including fixes for Windows 11 full-screen gaming issues and connectivity problems affecting some WPA3-Personal Wi‑Fi networks, while noting that Windows 10 devices may require Extended Security Updates (ESU) enrollment to continue receiving certain updates.
Separately, Microsoft implemented a service-side fix for a Windows Family Safety parental controls defect in its web filtering component that incorrectly prevented Google Chrome and other browsers from launching or caused them to crash, particularly after browser version updates. The issue stemmed from Family Safety’s block/allow logic failing to handle newly updated browser versions consistently, leading to unintended shutdowns even for previously approved browsers; affected users were advised to ensure devices are connected to the internet to receive the service-side remediation.
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On February 2026 Patch Tuesday, Microsoft released Windows 10 and Windows 11 updates containing 55 security fixes, including two critical flaws and six zero-days. The release also continued the Secure Boot certificate refresh rollout begun in January.
In early February 2026, Microsoft deployed a service-side fix for a Family Safety issue that blocked Google Chrome and other browsers from launching or caused them to crash on affected Windows systems. The company said the fix would roll out to all impacted devices over the following weeks.
Microsoft's January 2026 Windows updates were reported as notably buggy and later required two emergency patches to address problems introduced by the release. The instability shaped later guidance to weigh patch urgency against potential system issues.
With January 2026 Patch Tuesday, Microsoft started rolling out refreshed Secure Boot certificates to protect Windows systems against bootkit malware ahead of existing certificate expiration in June. Windows 10 devices require Extended Security Updates enrollment to receive the new client-side certificates and continued security updates.
Microsoft publicly acknowledged in late June 2025 that its Family Safety web filtering feature could mistakenly block updated versions of previously approved browsers, affecting Windows 10 22H2 and Windows 11 22H2 or later. The issue prevented Google Chrome and some other browsers from launching or caused them to crash.
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Microsoft released its **February 2026 Patch Tuesday** security updates, addressing **54–58 vulnerabilities** across Windows and other Microsoft products, including **six zero-days** that were **publicly disclosed and/or actively exploited** prior to patch availability. Reported zero-days include `CVE-2026-21514` (Office Word security feature bypass), `CVE-2026-21513` (MSHTML security feature bypass), `CVE-2026-21510` (Windows Shell security feature bypass), `CVE-2026-21533` (Windows Remote Desktop Services elevation of privilege), `CVE-2026-21525` (Windows Remote Access Connection Manager DoS), and `CVE-2026-21519` (Desktop Window Manager elevation of privilege). The broader release spans common bug classes such as **RCE**, **EoP**, **information disclosure**, **spoofing**, **DoS**, and **security feature bypass**, with multiple **Critical** issues also called out, including Azure Compute Gallery flaws impacting *ACI Confidential Containers* (`CVE-2026-23655`, `CVE-2026-21522`). As part of the February Windows updates, Microsoft also began a **phased rollout of updated Secure Boot certificates** to replace the original **2011 certificates** ahead of their expiration in **late June 2026**, using “targeting data” and “successful update signals” to control deployment. Windows 11 cumulative updates (including **KB5077181** and **KB5075941**) were released as mandatory Patch Tuesday packages for supported Windows 11 versions, bundling the security fixes alongside additional reliability and feature changes. Separately, Adobe issued February security bulletins covering **44 CVEs** across multiple Creative Cloud products; those Adobe issues were not listed as publicly known or under active attack at release.
Jun 29, 2026
Microsoft’s March Patch Tuesday security release shipped fixes for **83 vulnerabilities** across its enterprise software and services, and was notable for having **no actively exploited zero-days** for the first time in six months. Microsoft flagged **six** vulnerabilities as “more likely to be exploited,” and noted two issues—`CVE-2026-21262` and `CVE-2026-26127`—were **publicly known** at release. Researchers highlighted an Excel information-disclosure issue, `CVE-2026-26144`, describing a scenario where an attacker could potentially induce a *Copilot Agent* to exfiltrate data in a **zero-click** style workflow, and also pointed to Office flaws `CVE-2026-26110` and `CVE-2026-26113` (CVSS 8.4) that could enable **arbitrary code execution** via the Office preview pane. Microsoft also released **mandatory Windows 11 cumulative updates** `KB5079473` (25H2/24H2) and `KB5078883` (23H2) that incorporate the March 2026 Patch Tuesday security fixes, along with additional non-security changes. The updates advance build numbers to **26200.8037/26100.8037** (25H2/24H2) and **22631.6783** (23H2), expand “high-confidence device targeting” to increase coverage for automatic delivery of new **Secure Boot certificates**, and include reliability improvements such as better File Explorer search across drives and changes to **Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC)** behavior for COM objects (policy listing support).
Jun 29, 2026
Microsoft shipped its January Patch Tuesday security updates for **Windows 10** (including ESU/LTSC) and **Windows 11**, addressing a large set of vulnerabilities and rolling in additional platform hardening changes. Windows 10’s *KB5073724* (ESU) updates systems to build `19045.6809` (and LTSC 2021 to `19044.6809`) and includes security/bug fixes plus a phased update to handle **expiring Secure Boot certificates**; it also removes legacy **Agere modem drivers** (`agrsm64.sys`, `agrsm.sys`, `smserl64.sys`, `smserial.sys`), which can break dependent modem hardware. Windows 11 cumulative updates *KB5074109* (25H2/24H2) and *KB5073455* (23H2) are mandatory and include fixes for issues such as WSL mirrored networking failures (“No route to host”) impacting VPN access and RemoteApp connection failures in Azure Virtual Desktop environments. Third-party analysis of the same Patch Tuesday release reported **112 vulnerabilities** (with **8 marked critical**) and at least one vulnerability observed exploited in the wild: **CVE-2026-20805**. The critical issues highlighted include multiple **remote code execution** vulnerabilities across Windows components and Office applications (including **LSASS**, Word, Excel, and Office), plus **elevation of privilege** flaws such as **CVE-2026-20822** (Windows Graphics Component, use-after-free leading to potential SYSTEM privileges) and **CVE-2026-20854** (LSASS RCE over the network without requiring elevated privileges). Organizations should prioritize rapid deployment of the January Windows updates, with particular attention to exploited-in-the-wild items and critical RCE/EoP paths.
Jun 29, 2026