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Patch Intelligence Brief

Microsoft Patch Tuesday — August 2026

Microsoft shipped 426 fixes this month, 62 of them rated Critical. A further 364 entries in the same document are third-party CVEs Microsoft republishes or Edge/Chromium updates, carrying 46 Critical — counted separately here, because that total tracks Microsoft's role as a CNA rather than the size of Patch Tuesday. 1 is already under active attack and should be patched today; 2 publicly disclosed zero-days should be closed this week. Everything else fits the normal monthly cycle.

Compiled 2026-08-12 17:02 UTC Basis MSRC 2026-Aug · CISA KEV MSRC document revision 367, last revised 2026-08-12 07:00 UTC (first released 2026-08-11 07:00 UTC) Corroboration krebsonsecurity.com · thezdi.com · isc.sans.edu · bleepingcomputer.com · HCL BigFix
426
Microsoft-authored CVEs
62
rated Critical (Microsoft)
364
third-party / Chromium
46
rated Critical (everything else)
1
actively exploited
2
disclosed zero-day

As of 2026-08-12 17:02 UTC, this cycle’s MSRC document lists 790 CVEs — 426 Microsoft-authored, plus 0 Edge/Chromium and 364 Linux/other entries that are republished third-party fixes patching through their own vendors. That figure is a reading at a timestamp, not a fixed total for the month: Microsoft revises this document in place, and it is currently at revision 367 (last revised 2026-08-12 07:00 UTC). The two Critical lines above are kept separate for the same reason — the third-party total moves with Microsoft’s CNA scope, not with the size of Patch Tuesday.

Patch today

Confirmed in CISA KEV and flagged as exploited by Microsoft. Treat as active incidents, not routine patching.

CVE-2026-68820 Exploited CVSS 7.0 Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock Elevation of Privilege

in CISA KEV (added 2026-08-11); MSRC Exploited. Owner routes to the Endpoints / Windows client team.

Owner: Endpoints / Windows client

Close this week

Publicly disclosed but not yet observed in the wild — a zero-day on a countdown. Schedule ahead of the normal cycle.

CVE-2026-62832 Zero-day CVSS 7.8 Windows User Profile Service Elevation of Privilege

publicly disclosed (zero-day); MSRC: exploitation more likely. Owner routes to the Other / general Windows team.

Owner: Other / general Windows
CVE-2026-72971 Zero-day CVSS 5.5 Windows Container Isolation FS Filter Driver (unionfs.sys) Tampering

publicly disclosed (zero-day). Owner routes to the Endpoints / Windows client team.

Owner: Endpoints / Windows client

Who owns what

This month's priority items grouped by the team that patches them.

Other / general Windows64
62832 · 63508 · 65667 · 59115 · 62873 · 62815 · +58
Office / productivity20
70130 · 63513 · 63515 · 63518 · 63519 · 65657 · +14
Cloud / M365 apps10
56162 · 50515 · 62830 · 56161 · 50516 · 59118 · +4
Network / infra servers6
62878 · 62817 · 62823 · 62819 · 62820 · 65789
SharePoint owners4
70332 · 62827 · 65665 · 64921
Endpoints / Windows client3
68820 · 72971 · 62816
Identity / AD2
50481 · 62818
Remote access / RDP1
62824
Exchange / mail1
62911

Priority ranking

Ordered by a composite priority that weights active exploitation and disclosure above raw CVSS. Showing the sharp end; the full ranked set of 790 CVEs is in the index.

CVEStatusCVSSImpactOwner
CVE-2026-68820Exploited7.0Elevation of PrivilegeEndpoints / Windows client
CVE-2026-62832Zero-day7.8Elevation of PrivilegeOther / general Windows
CVE-2026-72971Zero-day5.5TamperingEndpoints / Windows client
CVE-2026-63508Critical10.0Elevation of PrivilegeOther / general Windows
CVE-2026-56162Critical10.0Elevation of PrivilegeCloud / M365 apps
CVE-2026-65667Critical10.0Elevation of PrivilegeOther / general Windows
CVE-2026-50515Critical9.9Remote Code ExecutionCloud / M365 apps
CVE-2026-59115Critical9.9Elevation of PrivilegeOther / general Windows
CVE-2026-50481Critical9.9Elevation of PrivilegeIdentity / AD
CVE-2026-62830Critical9.9Elevation of PrivilegeCloud / M365 apps
CVE-2026-62873Critical9.8Elevation of PrivilegeOther / general Windows
CVE-2026-62815Critical9.8Remote Code ExecutionOther / general Windows
CVE-2026-62878Critical9.8Remote Code ExecutionNetwork / infra servers
CVE-2026-62893Critical9.8Remote Code ExecutionOther / general Windows
CVE-2026-65791Critical9.8Remote Code ExecutionOther / general Windows

Plus further Critical-severity items this cycle — browse and filter them all in the index.

Browse the full index of all 790 vulnerabilities →

Deep dives

The items on the sharp end, with attack profile and cross-source context.

Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock Elevation of Privilege

Severity
Important · CVSS 7.0 · Elevation of Privilege
Profile
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C
Why now
in CISA KEV (added 2026-08-11); MSRC Exploited

↑ Corroborated — Automox independently flagged this item in their published briefing.

Windows User Profile Service Elevation of Privilege

Severity
Important · CVSS 7.8 · Elevation of Privilege
Profile
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C
Why now
publicly disclosed (zero-day); MSRC: exploitation more likely

↑ Corroborated — HCL BigFix field analysts independently flagged this item in their published briefing.

Windows Container Isolation FS Filter Driver (unionfs.sys) Tampering

Severity
Important · CVSS 5.5 · Tampering
Profile
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N/E:U/RL:O/RC:C
Why now
publicly disclosed (zero-day)

↑ Corroborated — Automox independently flagged this item in their published briefing.

Sources & method

Authoritative counts and exploitation flags come from Microsoft's MSRC Security Update Guide and CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Independent reporting and analyst commentary corroborate and add context but do not set priority.

Ranking is a composite score that weights active exploitation and public disclosure above raw CVSS, adjusted for network-reachable / no-authentication attack profiles and field-analyst judgment — which is why a low-CVSS vulnerability under active attack can outrank an unexploited 9.8.

  • BackboneMicrosoft MSRC (2026-Aug) · CISA KEV catalog
  • Reportingkrebsonsecurity.com · thezdi.com · isc.sans.edu · bleepingcomputer.com
  • AnalystAutomox