Microsoft Defender vulnerabilities exploited in the wild (CVE-2026-41091, CVE-2026-45498)
Summary
Two Microsoft Defender vulnerabilities (CVE-2026-41091 and CVE-2026-45498) are being exploited in the wild; one permits local privilege escalation and the other can cause a denial-of-service that impairs Defender. Microsoft released fixes in updated Malware Protection Engine and Antimalware Platform versions, and those components are also used by System Center Endpoint Protection and Microsoft Security Essentials. CISA added the flaws to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog and ordered US federal civilian agencies to apply patches or remove the product by June 3, 2026. Proof-of-concept exploits have been publicly released and observers have seen attackers leverage related Defender flaws, so apply the updates promptly and follow the provided mitigation guidance.
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