If you use Windows 10 or Windows 11 then you must make sure you’ve downloaded the very updates from Microsoft. The Redmond firm has just issued an extremely urgent warning after finding a flaw in its popular operating systems that could give cyber criminals complete control of any PC. To make matters worse, the bug has been stamped with an official, and dreaded, zero-day warning.
Not heard of this phrase? It’s one to take very seriously as it means it’s possible – and very likely – that the bug is already known to criminals and is being used right now to infect and attack PCs.
The fact that this weakness has that ‘zero-day’ warning is why Microsoft has acted so fast to push out the latest Windows upgrade. Once downloaded and installed on a PC, hackers using the flaw will be stopped in their tracks.
The flaw, called CVE-2022-37969, holds a severity score of 7.8 with Microsoft confirming that “an attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain SYSTEM privileges.”
Along with this issue being fixed, Microsoft says its latest update, which was released as part of Patch Tuesday, also mends a further 61 flaws so its vital all users make sure their devices are fully updated.
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These gemlins include elevation of privilege vulnerabilities, remote code execution vulnerabilities and fixes to Microsoft’s Edge browser.
Here’s how to make sure your PC is up to date
In Windows 10 and Windows 11, you decide when and how to get the latest updates to keep your device running smoothly and securely. To manage your options and see available updates, select Check for Windows updates. Or select the Start button, and then go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update.
News of this update comes after a recent release from Microsoft left some users unable to log into their PCs.
At the end of August, the KB5016691 patch was pushed out to millions of devices and was meant to address a number of niggling issues such as problems with USB printing, Bluetooth headsets and the Microsoft Store. However, while this patch fixed some gremlins it also introduced another one, as it could cause Windows 11 users to be locked out of their laptops.
Microsoft has since addressed the issue and you can find out full details here.