Threat Intelligence

Microsoft's Latest Patch Tuesday Fixes 398 Bugs — One Already Under Attack

The Hacker News · 12 Aug 2026

Key Takeaway Apply Microsoft's latest security updates immediately, as one of the patched flaws is already being actively exploited by attackers to gain full control of Windows systems.

Microsoft has released its monthly round of security updates, patching a total of 398 vulnerabilities across its products. Among these, one flaw stands out because it is already being exploited by attackers in the wild.

The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-68820 and rated 7.0 on the CVSS severity scale, lies in a core Windows kernel driver responsible for handling network socket operations. If an attacker already has some level of access to a machine — for example, through malware or a compromised account — this flaw allows them to escalate their privileges to SYSTEM level, giving them near-total control over the affected device. Because it is a kernel-level issue, it affects the core of the Windows operating system rather than a specific application.

Microsoft has prioritised this fix given its active exploitation status, releasing the patch as part of this month's broader security rollout. Businesses running Windows systems, particularly those without automatic updates enabled, should apply this update as soon as possible to close the door on attackers looking to gain deeper access to compromised machines.

Summarised by CISO AI from The Hacker News. We link back to every original so you can read it yourself.