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Microsoft’s January 2026 Patch Tuesday Just Got Real: 114 Flaws, 8 Critical, and One Already Under Attack
Microsoft dropped its first security update of 2026 this week, and it’s a doozy—114 vulnerabilities patched in one go, including an actively exploited zero-day that’s already being weaponized in the wild. This is the third-largest January Patch Tuesday in history, and if you’re running Windows, you’re probably going to want to pay attention.
The Numbers That Matter
Out of the 114 flaws, eight are rated Critical severity. The vulnerability breakdown reads like a security professional’s nightmare: 58 privilege escalation bugs, 22 information disclosure flaws, 21 remote code execution vulnerabilities, and five spoofing issues. But here’s what should actually keep you up at night: CVE-2026-20805, the actively exploited Desktop Window Manager bug, is already being used by attackers to bypass ASLR (Address Space Layout Randomization)—one of Windows’ core memory protection mechanisms.
Two other vulnerabilities demand immediate attention. CVE-2026-20876 is a critical privilege escalation flaw in Windows Virtualization-Based Security (VBS) Enclave that lets attackers escalate to Virtual Trust Level 2 privileges and essentially break the security boundary protecting Windows itself. CVE-2026-20868 in the Windows Routing and Remote Access Service scored an 8.8 on the CVSS scale. Then there are two SharePoint vulnerabilities also rated 8.8—and given that Chinese APTs abused SharePoint last year to deploy ToolShell, this is a pattern worth watching.
Why Developers Should Care
If you’re building on Windows or deploying applications to Windows infrastructure, these patches aren’t optional theater—they’re critical. The Desktop Window Manager bug is particularly nasty because information disclosure vulnerabilities are often chained with other exploits to achieve full system compromise. Attackers use ASLR bypasses as a stepping stone to memory corruption attacks and privilege escalation. If you’re running local services, processing untrusted input, or managing privileged code paths, you’re in scope.
The VBS Enclave flaw is even worse for security-conscious teams. This vulnerability undermines virtualization-based security itself—one of Windows’ most trusted execution layers. If an attacker already has a foothold on your system, they can use this to defeat advanced defenses and establish persistence that’s nearly impossible to detect.
Also worth noting: Microsoft flagged that certain Secure Boot certificates issued in 2011 will expire in June or October unless you install these January patches. Secure Boot prevents malicious code from loading during startup. Systems that miss this window could become vulnerable to Secure Boot bypasses—that’s a ticking time bomb for enterprise environments.
The Bottom Line
This isn’t a “patch next month when things are stable” situation. The Desktop Window Manager vulnerability is already being exploited. The VBS Enclave flaw breaks core Windows security boundaries. If you’re managing production Windows systems, prioritize these patches immediately, especially the eight Critical-rated vulnerabilities. And if you’re running SharePoint, move that even higher on your list.
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