Microsoft's October Windows update fixes a record 1,400+ flaws, one already exploited
Microsoft's October Patch Tuesday fixed more than 1,400 security vulnerabilities, the largest monthly batch on record, beating September's tally of nearly 1,000 and exceeding the 1,261 flaws fixed in all of 2020, according to The Next Web citing Krebs on Security. ZDNET, citing an Action1 advisory, says the update includes about 80 critical flaws and two zero-days; The Next Web puts the critical count at least 78. One zero-day, CVE-2026-96951 in Windows Shell, was already exploited in the wild and lets attackers bypass Mark of the Web protections; a second, in the .NET Framework, was public before the fix. Both reports attribute the surge in findings to AI: ZDNET describes Microsoft's internal "multi-model agentic scanning harness" codenamed MDASH, while The Next Web says Microsoft credits large language models for the increase. The release is the first official update for Windows 11 26H2 and the last for Windows 11 24H2 Home and Pro, and also fixes File Explorer and Bluetooth issues and allows remapping the Copilot key.
Security experts quoted in the coverage warn that batches this large strain corporate security teams that test updates before rollout, with Fortra's Tyler Reguly advising teams to patch the flaws known to be exploited first.
ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The October Windows update squashes more than 1,400 security flaws.
- This marks Microsoft’s final supported update for Windows 24H2.
- The update also fixes issues with File Explorer and Bluetooth.
Microsoft continues to break bug-squashing records, with October’s Windows update patching more than 1,400 security vulnerabilities. As usual, the actual number of bug fixes varies based on which ones are counted, but hovers around 1,410.
Also: How to upgrade your ‘incompatible’ Windows 10 PC to Windows 11 – for free
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