In a concerning development for Windows users, the month of March has seen a significant uptick in zero-day exploits, with Microsoft confirming six vulnerabilities in its latest Patch Tuesday security announcement. This marks an increase from the five zero-days reported in January and February combined, underscoring the urgency for system administrators to prioritize security updates.
Windows Operating System Security Patches Should Be your Top Priority This Month
At first glance, the March Patch Tuesday security roundup may appear unremarkable, with a total of 57 Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) reported. However, Tyler Reguly, associate director of security research and development at Fortra, cautions that this perception could be misleading. “Buckle up because admins may be in for a ride,” he warns. The presence of six zero-day vulnerabilities, all classified as critical, indicates that vigilance is essential.
The silver lining, according to Reguly, is that all six detected zero-days can be addressed with a single cumulative update. “This means a single update to roll out to fix all of these at once,” he explains, noting that no additional configuration steps are required post-patch.
Chris Goettl, vice president of security product management at Ivanti, draws on a regional saying about March: it goes in like a lion and out like a lamb. “At first glance, the March Patch Tuesday looks like a lamb, but this lamb might have the teeth of a lion,” he elaborates, referring to the serious nature of the zero-day vulnerabilities. The exploits impact critical components such as the Microsoft Management Console, NTFS, Fast FAT, and the Win32 Kernel Subsystem, making it imperative for organizations to prioritize this update.
The Six Windows Zero-Days In Detail
- CVE-2025-26633: This vulnerability allows a security feature bypass in the Microsoft Management Console. Exploitation requires convincing a target, whether a standard user or an admin, to open a malicious file, often through social engineering tactics, as noted by Satnam Narang, a senior staff research engineer at Tenable.
- CVE-2024-24993: A heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability within Windows NTFS, which could be exploited by prompting users to mount a specially crafted virtual hard disk. Henry Smith, a senior security engineer at Automox, warns that a successful attack could enable unauthorized code execution.
- CVE-2025-24991: This information disclosure vulnerability affects all Windows editions from Windows 10 to 11 and Server 2008 to Server 2025. Goettl emphasizes that risk-based prioritization necessitates treating this vulnerability as critical.
- CVE-2025-24985: A vulnerability in the Windows fast FAT file system driver, the first of its kind detected in three years. Reported anonymously, details remain scarce, but it poses a risk of remote code execution if a user is tricked into mounting a specially crafted virtual hard disk, according to Narang.
- CVE-2025-24983: This elevation of privilege vulnerability within the Windows Win32 kernel subsystem could grant unauthorized access to sensitive data, credentials, and system information. Alex Vovk, CEO and co-founder of Action1, highlights its potential to provide a direct path from low privileges to SYSTEM access, making it an appealing target for attackers.
- CVE-2025-24984: Another information disclosure vulnerability in Windows NTFS, affecting the same range of Windows editions as CVE-2025-24991. Goettl reiterates that this vulnerability should also be treated as critical due to its potential impact.
