Privilege Escalation
Plug and Pwn attack uses fake USB devices for Windows SYSTEM access
Security researchers have disclosed new “Plug and Pwn” attacks that abuse the Windows Plug and Play feature to trigger Windows into installing vulnerable or insecure vendor software and gain SYSTEM privileges. The research, presented at DEF CON 34 by security researchers Alejandro Hernando and Borja Martínez, exploits how Windows automatically identifies new connected hardware, locates matching driver packages, and installs […]
New Microsoft Defender ‘ShieldBreak’ zero-day grants SYSTEM privileges
A security researcher known as Nightmare Eclipse has released a new Microsoft Defender zero-day exploit named “ShieldBreak” after Microsoft released the August 2026 Patch Tuesday security updates. The new vulnerability is described as a bypass for RoguePlanet, another Defender privilege escalation flaw disclosed in June and patched by Microsoft one month later. However, cybersecurity expert Kevin […]
New RefluXFS Linux flaw lets attackers gain root privileges
A nine-year-old race condition vulnerability in the Linux kernel’s XFS filesystem, tracked as CVE-2026-64600, allows local attackers to overwrite protected files and gain root privileges. Dubbed RefluXFS by the Qualys Threat Research Unit (TRU), which found and reported it, the security flaw affects systems with an XFS filesystem with reflink enabled (a default configuration on […]
Windows LegacyHive zero-day flaw gets free, unofficial patches
Free unofficial patches are available for a recently disclosed Windows zero-day flaw that allows attackers to escalate privileges on up-to-date Windows systems. The vulnerability (dubbed LegacyHive and without a CVE ID for easy tracking) was found by a security researcher using the “Nightmare Eclipse” handle in the Windows User Profile Service. Nightmare Eclipse disclosed it the day […]
New Windows LegacyHive zero-day gives hackers admin privileges
A security researcher using the “Nightmare Eclipse” handle has released a Windows zero-day exploit dubbed LegacyHive that allows attackers to escalate privileges on up-to-date Windows systems. Nightmare Eclipse published a proof-of-concept (PoC) exploit hours after Microsoft released its July 2026 Patch Tuesday updates, saying that it abuses a security vulnerability in the Windows User Profile […]
Microsoft patches RoguePlanet Defender zero-day vulnerability
Microsoft has released a security patch to address a Defender zero-day vulnerability known as “RoguePlanet,” disclosed after the June 2026 Patch Tuesday. The flaw (tracked as CVE-2026-50656) was disclosed by a security researcher using the “Nightmare Eclipse” handle as part of an ongoing dispute with Microsoft over the company’s bug bounty and vulnerability disclosure practices. They […]
CISA: Windows BlueHammer flaw now exploited by ransomware gangs
CISA confirmed on Monday that ransomware gangs have begun exploiting a high-severity Microsoft Defender privilege escalation vulnerability that has previously been abused in zero-day attacks. Dubbed BlueHammer, the security flaw (CVE-2026-33825) was leaked by a security researcher known as “Nightmare Eclipse” in early April, together with proof-of-concept exploit code, in protest at how the Microsoft Security Response […]
Microsoft working on Defender patch for RoguePlanet zero-day
Microsoft confirmed that it’s working on a security patch for a Defender zero-day vulnerability named “RoguePlanet,” disclosed one week ago. The security researcher who published a RoguePlanet exploit during the June 2026 Patch Tuesday (known as Nightmare Eclipse) said it affects fully patched Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices and allows attackers to spawn command prompts with […]
Critical Fortinet FortiSandbox flaws now exploited in attacks
Attackers are now exploiting several critical vulnerabilities in Fortinet’s FortiSandbox cyber threat detection platform, according to threat intelligence company Defused. Fortinet released security updates for these three critical-severity security flaws (tracked as CVE-2026-39813, CVE-2026-39808, and CVE-2026-25089) on April 14. These flaws allow unauthenticated threat actors to escalate privileges and execute unauthorized code remotely through low-complexity command injection attacks […]
Cisco warns of unpatched SD-WAN zero-day exploited in attacks
On Thursday, Cisco warned of a high-severity, unpatched zero-day in the Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager (tracked as CVE-2026-20245) actively exploited in attacks enabling root privilege escalation. The zero-day flaw impacts all deployment types, including On-Prem Deployment, Cisco SD-WAN Cloud-Pro, Cisco SD-WAN Cloud (Cisco Managed), and Cisco SD-WAN for Government (FedRAMP). In a Thursday advisory, Cisco said the […]