Microsoft Plugs Record-Breaking 974 Security Holes
Microsoft has released its largest-ever patch batch, addressing at least 974 security vulnerabilities in its Windows operating systems and other software. This month's update dwarfs the company's previous record set in July, when it released updates for 570 security vulnerabilities.
The latest patch bundle brings this year's total to over 2,600 vulnerabilities, more than twice Microsoft's previous record-setting patch year in 2020. With three months left to go, the number of patches is expected to continue growing.
Among the critical flaws fixed this month are two 'zero-day' vulnerabilities being actively exploited: CVE-2026-81963 and CVE-2026-85880. These allow an attacker to elevate their privileges on a Windows system with little or no help from the user.