Microsoft confirms two major Defender security issues — so update now or face possible attack
- Microsoft patches two actively exploited zero‑day flaws in Defender, tracked as CVE‑2026‑41091 (privilege escalation) and CVE‑2026‑45498 (denial of service)
- Updates were shipped automatically via Malware Protection Engine 1.1.26040.8 and Antimalware Platform 4.18.26040.7, though users are advised to manually verify versions
- CISA added both bugs to its KEV catalog, giving federal agencies until June 3 to patch or discontinue vulnerable software
Microsoft has released patches for two zero-day vulnerabilities affecting its Defender antivirus tool.
In a new security advisory, the company said it fixed a privilege escalation security bug plaguing Microsoft Malware Protection Engine 1.1.26030.3008 and earlier, and a denial-of-service flaw in the Microsoft Defender Antimalware Platform 4.18.26030.3011 and earlier.
The former is tracked as CVE-2026-41091 and was given a severity score of 7.8/10 (high). It allows malicious actors to escalate privileges locally. The latter is tracked under CVE-2026-45498, with a severity score of 7.5/10 (high).
CISA confirms abuse
To address...
Copyright of this story solely belongs to techradar.com. To see the full text click HERE
