Microsoft’s April Patch Tuesday landed like a thunderclap: a single update cycle that patched well over a hundred security flaws across Windows, SQL Server, Azure, Office and related products, and left many users re-evaluating whether the monthly Windows maintenance cadence is worth the risk — or whether a move to macOS (or something else) makes more sense.
Background / Overview
Microsoft’s April 2024 Patch Tuesday closed what multiple trackers called a
record number of vulnerabilities. The widely cited headline is
147 CVEs patched in Microsoft’s April rollup, with most trackers agreeing on roughly the same ballpark even as different outlets reported slightly different totals (147, 149, or 150 depending on what was counted). What pushed April into the headlines was not a swarm of “critical” remote takeovers — only three of the patched issues were rated
critical by Microsoft — but the sheer quantity of fixes and the presence of a handful of high‑profile and actively exploited flaws, including a SmartScreen bypass and a proxy/driver signing issue. Security teams and desktop users alike were forced into a familiar tug‑of‑war: patch quickly to reduce exposure, or delay while validating stability across dozens of hardware and software permutations. This article summarizes what the April release actually fixed, explains why Windows users routinely feel update fatigue, compares the tradeoffs with macOS, and lays out pragmatic, defensible guidance for home users and administrators facing large monthly rollups.
What was fixed in April 2024 (numbers, types and the riskiest items)
Counts and categories — why reports vary
- Headline counts reported by reputable outlets clustered around 147 CVEs for Microsoft’s April patch. Multiple security vendors and researchers echoed that figure, calling it the largest monthly Patch Tuesday in recent memory.
- Other respected trackers counted 149–150 when including certain third‑party components, Edge patches released earlier in April, and Mariner/Linux items that Microsoft publishes alongside Windows advisories. That explains the small discrepancies across outlets. Numbers depend on what you include.
The decisive category: remote code execution (RCE)
- A substantial portion of April’s haul were Remote Code Execution (RCE) issues — industry summaries clustered around 67 RCEs in April’s set. RCEs are high‑value to attackers because they can allow code to run on a target system without the user’s consent. Many of the RCEs were concentrated in Microsoft SQL drivers and server components, suggesting a common underlying library or driver family.
The truly high‑priority items
- Three Critical RCEs in Microsoft Defender for IoT. These three RCE vulnerabilities (CVE‑2024‑21322, CVE‑2024‑21323, CVE‑2024‑29053) were singled out by multiple vendors and by CrowdStrike’s analysis as the only critical rated items in the month’s list; successful exploitation could let attackers upload or overwrite files on Defender for IoT appliances or issue arbitrary commands. If you run Defender for IoT in production, these were top priority to patch.
- Two actively exploited (in‑the‑wild) flaws called out by researchers. Analysts flagged at least two vulnerabilities that appeared to have been used in real attacks prior to public patches: a SmartScreen prompt bypass (CVE‑2024‑29988) and a proxy driver signing/driver spoofing issue (CVE‑2024‑26234). Microsoft’s public advisories were conservative initially; outside researchers pushed for those items to be treated as exploited.
- Large cluster in SQL Server / SQL drivers. Dozens of the RCEs were grouped in SQL Server and OLE/DB drivers — several vendors pointed out that many of those CVEs share similar root causes, which raises the risk that a single exploitation technique could be adapted across many targets.
Why the April count matters — strengths of Microsoft’s response
- Breadth of coverage. Microsoft’s batch included fixes across an unusually wide swath of its product portfolio: Windows clients and servers, SQL Server, Azure components, .NET/Visual Studio, BitLocker/Defender, and Secure Boot. Applying a single cumulative update or set of KBs reduces a large attack surface in one maintenance window.
- Rapid consolidation of vendor intelligence. Security vendors (Tenable, Akamai, CrowdStrike, etc. produced rapid, actionable analyses that helped organizations prioritize — not every CVE is an equal risk, and those firms distilled which items required emergency actions. That kind of vendor collaboration improves overall defensive posture if teams consume it.
- Fixes for widely impactful classes of issues. Addressing Secure Boot bypasses, driver‑signing trust issues, and dozens of SQL server RCEs removes entire classes of exploits that could otherwise be weaponized in commodity malware and targeted campaigns. Leaving those unpatched risks rapid, automated exploitation.
Why many Windows users (and some journalists) feel traumatized by Patch Tuesday
The underlying technical reality
- Heterogeneous hardware + third‑party drivers = combinatorial testing nightmare. Windows runs on millions of device SKUs from hundreds of OEMs; every device mix introduces different drivers, firmware versions, and vendor software. An update that touches kernel drivers, storage, audio stacks, or firmware paths can interact badly with a small subset of machines — reproducing every hardware permutation before rollout is practically impossible. This is the central technical cause of update regressions.
- Monthly cadence with broad scope. Patch Tuesday’s tight monthly schedule is excellent for timely fixes but gives less time to validate cross‑stack interactions in complex, real‑world configurations. For large organizations, that tradeoff forces a policy decision: deploy quickly and absorb risk, or delay and remain exposed. Both choices carry potential harm.
The operational and human side
- Severity is not the only metric that matters — stability is. Users who depend on stable audio, USB DACs, docking stations, or developer tools will notice a broken peripheral more acutely than a theoretical RCE that requires unusual preconditions. Past updates that disrupted features (File Explorer, WinRE, WSL, audio stacks) leave users wary.
- Stories scale faster than technical nuance. A small but painful regression on a popular laptop model gets amplified on social media and in coverage, feeding the perception that Windows updates “break things” more often than they actually do across the total install base. The visibility gap between the many systems that patched cleanly and the minority that didn’t drives anxiety.
The macOS argument: why some users (including Mashable’s writer) switched
Many users look at April’s Patch Tuesday headlines and reach for a simpler answer:
move to macOS. The common reasoning goes like this:
- Apple controls hardware and software. Apple ships both the silicon and the OS for the bulk of Mac models, which reduces driver diversity and allows Apple to validate updates against a far smaller matrix of hardware permutations. That vertical integration can make firmware and OS rollouts smoother and less likely to break peripherals across many vendors.
- Fewer (public) large‑scale rollups. macOS updates historically have felt less noisy to many consumers: fewer driver‑level regressions attributable to a wide OEM ecosystem, and a smaller set of third‑party kernel extensions to vet. That gives the perception (and sometimes reality) of a calmer update experience for single‑machine users.
- Better out‑of‑the‑box integration for consumer devices. For people who prize a “works everywhere” laptop and don’t need custom GPU builds, the MacBook Air/Pro hardware + Apple Silicon performance and battery life have been persuasive factors in switching.
Critical balance: macOS is not magically immune
- macOS has security flaws too. Apple’s ecosystem is smaller but not invulnerable. macOS has had zero‑days and exploited vulnerabilities; attackers target platforms with reliable ROI, and Mac users are increasingly valuable targets. Relying on “fewer vulnerabilities” as a permanent safety guarantee is a mistake.
- Enterprise tradeoffs. For organizations with legacy Windows‑only applications, specialized drivers, or gaming and GPU needs, macOS is not a drop‑in replacement. The platform choice must match workflows, compliance, and endpoint management capabilities.
- Supply chain and firmware risks remain. Apple’s vertical model reduces vendor fragmentation, but it concentrates risk: a high‑impact vulnerability that bypasses macOS protections or Apple’s signer/key infrastructure would have a larger, consolidated blast radius.
Practical advice: how to manage Patch Tuesday risk without fleeing Windows
Whether you run one laptop or manage enterprise fleets, here are pragmatic steps rooted in security best practices.
For home users (consumer PCs)
- Back up before you update. Create a system image or ensure a reliable backup (cloud + local) exists so you can restore quickly if an update misbehaves.
- Install updates within a short window. For ordinary users, applying the cumulative within 7–14 days balances exposure vs. stability; don’t live permanently on unpatched builds.
- Use create a recovery plan. Know how to boot into Safe Mode, use WinRE, or roll back an update via Settings > Recovery.
- Monitor vendor lists. If your laptop maker or audio interface vendor posts known issues for a specific KB, follow their guidance before patching.
For IT teams and admins
- Adopt staged deployments. Use pilot rings (insider/preview, pilot, broad) to detect regressions before enterprise‑wide rollout.
- Prioritize by threat and exposure. Focus emergency deployment on CVEs flagged as “exploited in the wild” or assigned to KEV/CISA known‑exploited lists; other items can be staged.
- Automate rollback and recovery. Have tested, automated rollback scripts, validated WinRE images, and snapshot-based restores for critical systems.
- Use compensating controls where patching is delayed. Network segmentation, application allow‑lists, EDR rules, and temporary ACLs can mitigate risk while waiting for a safe update window.
- Consume vendor prioritizations. Security vendors (CrowdStrike, Tenable, Rapid7, Akamai, etc. publish triage guidance; use it to narrow focus on the handful of CVEs that matter most to your estate.
Analyst takeaways and the truth behind “record number” headlines
- “Record number of flaws” is technically correct in April’s case when counting Microsoft’s internal CVE tallies and adjacent product fixes. The headline number matters because more patched vulnerabilities means more potential exposure for unpatched systems. But headline totals hide nuance: many of April’s fixes were rated Important (not critical), and several CVEs were grouped around one component family (SQL drivers), which explains the spike.
- Microsoft’s monthly cadence remains a hard engineering and program management problem. The choice to push many fixes in one month — and to continue the predictable Patch Tuesday rhythm — is a tradeoff: better to consolidate and distribute fixes predictably than to string out piecemeal advisories that increase operational friction. That doesn’t make the consequences easier for users on fragile hardware mixes.
- The practical lesson for technicians: assume vulnerability volume will continue to fluctuate. Build resilient, testable update processes rather than switching platforms solely because of headline fear. If the core issue for a user is update instability tied to a particular OEM driver or app, the right fix may be a hardware change, updated drivers, or vendor support rather than wholesale platform migration.
Final verdict: so, should you switch to macOS?
- If your priority is a curated, “it just works” laptop experience for everyday productivity and creative apps, macOS is a strong, defensible choice. Apple’s hardware‑software integration can reduce the odds of driver‑level fallout from system updates.
- If your workflows require Windows‑only apps, advanced gaming, or flexible hardware choices, staying on Windows and hardening update practices is the wiser path. Migration carries costs: software compatibility, training, licensing, and potential support gaps.
- For enterprises: platform changes are nontrivial and should be driven by application requirements, security posture, and total cost of ownership — not by a single noisy Patch Tuesday.
Checklist: immediate actions after a big Patch Tuesday
- For all users:
- Verify your backup is recent and recoverable.
- Check vendor support notes for known regressions related to your exact device model.
- Install the update within a risk‑based window (home users: 7–14 days; critical endpoints: immediate if CVEs are known exploited).
- For sysadmins:
- Identify endpoints and servers affected by the highest‑risk CVEs (smart prioritization).
- Deploy to pilot rings, monitor telemetry and helpdesk trends for 48–72 hours.
- If regressions appear, apply vendor hotfixes or roll back while compensating with network controls.
- Document lessons learned and update update‑validation test plans to include long‑lived upgrade states and third‑party drivers.
Conclusion
April 2024’s Patch Tuesday was a reminder of modern platform maintenance’s essential tension: security requires constant vigilance and rapid patching, but the diversity of real‑world systems makes stability a moving target. Microsoft’s record‑sized rollup removed a large body of risk — including several dangerous RCEs and in‑the‑wild exploits — but the update cycle also amplified longstanding pains for users who have experienced regressions in past updates. For individuals, the right answer may be a measured platform choice (macOS for a simpler consumer laptop experience, Windows for flexibility and compatibility). For organizations, the right answer is process: staged rollouts, prioritized remediation, robust backups, and compensating controls. Headlines about “147 flaws” are helpful wake‑up calls — but the durable protection comes from disciplined patch engineering and sensible risk management, not platform panics.
(Discussion threads and community reporting about these updates and their fallout have been widely cataloged in Windows‑focused forums and community archives; community posts reflect the same mix of relief at the security work and frustration with update‑time regressions.
Source: Mashable
Microsoft patch Tuesday: Windows 11 update fixes record-breaking 147 flaws