🟠 High | Source: The Hacker News
Microsoft has disclosed a zero-day privilege escalation vulnerability in Microsoft Defender, tracked as CVE-2026-50656 with a CVSS score of 7.8. The flaw, codenamed RoguePlanet, resides in the Microsoft Malware Protection Engine and allows attackers to elevate their privileges on affected systems. A patch is currently in development, meaning no official fix is yet available.
Security Architect’s Take: With no patch available, prioritise compensating controls such as restricting local access to endpoints running Defender, ensuring least-privilege principles are enforced, and monitoring for unusual privilege escalation activity via SIEM or Microsoft Sentinel. Track the Microsoft Security Update Guide for CVE-2026-50656 and be prepared to deploy the patch rapidly once released.
Original advisory: Microsoft Confirms RoguePlanet Defender Zero-Day, Says Patch is in Development