Urgent Update: February Patch Tuesday Closes 6 Actively Exploited Threats. Check Your Security Now!
2026-02-10 (updated 19 hours ago) by Chemtable Software
On February 10, 2026, Microsoft released its regular monthly security update package. This traditional “Patch Tuesday” brought fixes for 58 vulnerabilities, and this is one of those cases where delaying installation is extremely dangerous.
Among the patched flaws are six zero-day vulnerabilities. This means cybercriminals were already actively exploiting them, leaving PC owners unprotected until the patches were released. Three of these six issues were not only observed in real-world attacks but were also publicly disclosed, making them even easier to exploit.
Main Threats: How Could You Be Hacked?
We’ve selected the most dangerous scenarios that these fresh updates now protect against:
Malicious Shortcut or Link (CVE-2026-21510)
Hackers found a way to bypass SmartScreen and Windows Shell security mechanisms. Simply opening a specially crafted shortcut file or clicking a link meant the system would no longer warn you about the danger. The Mark of the Web (MoTW) security tag was being bypassed.
Office Document Trojan (CVE-2026-21514)
A classic scenario: you receive a Word document, open it, and malicious code bypasses the built-in OLE protection. Important: even if you use Microsoft 365, you were at risk. The only saving grace was that this attack didn’t work through the preview pane.
Full System Control (CVE-2026-21519)
A vulnerability in the Desktop Window Manager component allowed any virus or local attacker to instantly gain SYSTEM privileges — the highest access level in Windows.
Security Bypass in the Browser (CVE-2026-21513)
An issue in the MSHTML framework (the Internet Explorer engine built into the system) allowed attacks to bypass network firewalls and security policies.
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February Statistics Summary:
- Total fixes: 58
- Critical: 5 (mostly privilege escalation)
- Threat types: 25 privilege escalation issues, 12 remote code execution opportunities, 6 information leaks.
Don’t wait for malware to exploit an old vulnerability. Windows updates are available now. Take a step towards security right away with our tools.
