windows security

About this tag
Windows security discussions on WindowsForum.com cover a broad range of threats and defenses relevant to Microsoft environments. Recent threads detail cryptocurrency clippers spreading via USB shortcut files, DragonForce ransomware hiding command-and-control traffic inside Microsoft Teams relays, and the GhostTree attack exploiting NTFS junctions to bypass endpoint detection. Other topics include the expiration of Microsoft's Secure Boot CA 2011 certificate, agentic vulnerability scanning with Microsoft MDASH, and lessons from cyber insurance claims data for Windows shops. Older but still relevant threads address the Adobe Type Manager zero-day font vulnerability and the ongoing impact of Microsoft Edge's Chromium shift. These discussions emphasize practical defense strategies, patching, and the importance of understanding Windows-specific attack surfaces.
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    Check Secure Boot Readiness in Windows Security (2023 Certificate Migration)

    Windows users can check Secure Boot readiness by opening the Windows Security app, choosing Device security, and reading the Secure Boot status Microsoft began surfacing there in April 2026 as part of its migration from 2011 Secure Boot certificates to replacement 2023 certificates. That sounds...
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    USB Shortcut Windows Crypto Clipper Uses Tor SOCKS Backdoor to Steal Wallets

    Microsoft said on June 17, 2026, that its threat intelligence teams have tracked a Windows cryptocurrency clipper active since February 2026 that spreads through malicious shortcut files on USB drives, launches a bundled Tor proxy, and uses script-based components to steal wallet data. The...
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    Willis Cyber Insurance Findings: What Windows Shops Should Know (2026 Claims Data)

    More than 95 percent of average data breach losses and 90 percent of average first-party cyber losses are adequately covered by insurance, according to a Willis report released June 16, 2026, after reviewing 5,500 claims across 95 countries from January 2013 through January 2026. That is not a...
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    Microsoft MDASH Agentic Vulnerability Scanning Brings AI Into Windows Security

    Microsoft said on June 17, 2026, that codename MDASH, its multi-model agentic vulnerability-scanning system, has moved from benchmark validation into active use across Windows, Azure, and identity engineering workflows, with newly reported discoveries spanning Hyper-V, the Windows kernel, Active...
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    Microsoft Secure Boot CA 2011 Expires in 2026: What Linux Admins Must Do

    Microsoft’s 2011 Secure Boot certificate for third-party UEFI boot components is set to expire in late June 2026, forcing Linux distributions, hardware vendors, and administrators to complete a long-planned migration to Microsoft’s newer 2023 Secure Boot certificate chain. The uncomfortable part...
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    DragonForce Ransomware Hides C2 in Microsoft Teams Relays: Detection Lessons

    On June 16 and 17, 2026, Symantec and Security Affairs reported that DragonForce ransomware operators used a custom Go backdoor, Backdoor.Turn, to hide command-and-control traffic inside legitimate Microsoft Teams relay infrastructure during an intrusion at a major U.S. services company. The...
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    Windows Zero-Day via Fonts: Adobe Type Manager RCE and Preview Pane Risks (2020)

    Microsoft disclosed on March 23, 2020, that attackers were exploiting two previously unknown Windows remote-code-execution vulnerabilities in the Adobe Type Manager Library, affecting supported Windows desktop and server releases, including Windows 10, before a security update was available. The...
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    Why Microsoft Edge’s Chromium Shift Still Matters in 2026

    Microsoft’s Chromium-based Edge browser first became generally available on January 15, 2020, for Windows and macOS, replacing Microsoft’s original EdgeHTML gamble with a browser built on the same open-source engine family that powers Google Chrome. That “new Edge” is no longer new in 2026, but...
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    GhostTree and Junction Scanning: Patch Windows, Use RedirectionGuard, Don’t Trust EDR Alone

    Verdict: patch Windows and endpoint tools as updates become available, enable Microsoft’s junction mitigations wherever your build and services support them, and do not treat EDR recursive scanning as a control you can safely trust by itself. GhostTree matters because it turns a familiar Windows...
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    CVE-2026-50656 RoguePlanet: Defender Malware Engine EoP—What to Do Before the Fix

    Microsoft published CVE-2026-50656 on June 16, 2026, describing an Important elevation-of-privilege vulnerability in the Microsoft Malware Protection Engine used by Defender, publicly known as “RoguePlanet,” with functional exploit code assessed as available but no confirmed exploitation yet...
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    GPU-Z 2.70.0 Security Update: Safer Kernel Driver + New NVIDIA Intel Qualcomm Support

    TechPowerUp released GPU-Z 2.70.0 on June 16, 2026, for Windows users, adding broader GPU recognition across NVIDIA, Intel, and Qualcomm hardware while urging an update because the release improves the security of the utility’s kernel-mode driver. That last clause is the story. GPU-Z is usually...
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    June 2026 Patch Tuesday: 209 Microsoft CVEs, 500+ Total, and Patch Triage

    Microsoft’s June 2026 Patch Tuesday shipped on June 9 with 209 Microsoft CVEs across 24 product families, plus hundreds of related advisories, pushing the year’s Windows security workload past the 500-CVE mark for administrators already buried in update testing. The number is not merely large...
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    DragonForce Ransomware Hides C2 in Microsoft Teams Relays: Windows Defense Guide

    Attackers deploying DragonForce ransomware against a major U.S. services company in December 2025 hid command-and-control traffic inside Microsoft Teams relay infrastructure using a custom Go backdoor tracked by Symantec as Backdoor.Turn. The technical novelty is not that Teams was “hacked,” but...
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    Vidar Infostealer Scam: Fake Free Office From TikTok Reels PowerShell

    On June 11, 2026, security researchers reported active TikTok and Instagram Reels campaigns that lure Windows users with fake free Microsoft Office, Windows activation, Spotify Premium, and Adobe tutorials, then push PowerShell commands or downloads that install the Vidar infostealer. The...
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    Chrome CVE-2026-11664 Use-After-Free: Windows Patch and Version Check Guide

    Google Chrome CVE-2026-11664 is a high-severity use-after-free flaw in Chrome’s Payments component, disclosed June 8, 2026, affecting Chrome versions before 149.0.7827.103 and potentially exploitable by a remote attacker through a crafted HTML page. The bug is not the headline-grabbing zero-day...
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    Known Exploited CVE-2026-11645 Patch Urgency for Windows Chrome 149 (V8)

    Google fixed CVE-2026-11645 on June 8, 2026, in Chrome 149.0.7827.102/.103 for desktop platforms after confirming active exploitation of a high-severity V8 out-of-bounds read/write flaw reachable through a crafted HTML page. The important phrase is not “high severity,” because browser teams ship...
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    Visa and OpenAI Bring Tokenized AI Shopping—Will Agents Replace the Checkout?

    Visa announced on June 10, 2026, that it is partnering with OpenAI to integrate Visa payment capabilities into OpenAI experiences, allowing ChatGPT and related AI agents to initiate Visa-backed purchases for users under controls such as tokenized credentials, authorization checks, and spending...
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    CVE-2026-11641: Patch Chrome Bluetooth Use-After-Free on Windows (149.0.7827.103+)

    Google fixed CVE-2026-11641 on June 8, 2026, in Chrome’s Stable Channel update for desktop, closing a critical Windows-only use-after-free flaw in the browser’s Bluetooth code before version 149.0.7827.103 that could let a remote attacker execute code through a crafted web page. The detail that...
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    CVE-2026-11631: Windows Chrome Sandbox Escape via Aura (Patch Before 149.0.7827.103)

    Google disclosed CVE-2026-11631 on June 8, 2026, as a critical Windows-only Chrome vulnerability in Aura that affects versions before 149.0.7827.103 and could let an attacker escape the browser sandbox after first compromising the renderer process. That short description is doing a lot of work...
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    CVE-2026-12007: Critical Chrome Use-After-Free RCE on Windows—Patch to 149.0.7827.115

    CVE-2026-12007 is a critical Google Chrome for Windows vulnerability fixed on June 11, 2026, in Chrome 149.0.7827.115, where a crafted HTML page could trigger a use-after-free bug in Chrome’s Core component and allow remote code execution. The short answer for scanners is that the NVD entry does...
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