Microsoft Patch Tuesday Analysis – February 2026

Executive Summary

On Tuesday, 10.02.2026, Microsoft released its monthly security update addressing 59 vulnerabilities across its products.

By severity category:

• Remote Code Execution - 12;
• Spoofing - 8;
• Denial of Service - 3;
• Information Disclosure - 6;
• Elevation of Privilege - 25;
• Security Feature Bypass - 5.

Exploited (Zero-Day) and Publicly Disclosed Vulnerabilities

Special attention should be paid to the following 6 vulnerabilities. Fixing them is the highest priority:

• CVE-2026-21510 (CVSS 8.8; Security Feature Bypass) - Windows Shell Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability. A vulnerability in Windows Shell components allowing an attacker to bypass protection mechanisms such as Windows SmartScreen and Shell security warnings.
• CVE-2026-21513 (CVSS 8.8; Security Feature Bypass) - MSHTML Framework Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability. Allows bypassing security mechanisms when launching files.
• CVE-2026-21514 (CVSS 7.8; Security Feature Bypass) - Microsoft Word Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability.
• CVE-2026-21519 (CVSS 7.8; Elevation of Privilege) - Desktop Window Manager Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability.
• CVE-2026-21525 (CVSS 6.2; Denial of Service) - Windows Remote Access Connection Manager Denial of Service Vulnerability.
• CVE-2026-21533 (CVSS 7.8; Elevation of Privilege) - Windows Remote Desktop Services Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability.

General Trends

The February 2026 Patch Tuesday release became notable due to the large number of actively exploited vulnerabilities.

• Zero-day activity: Microsoft confirmed exploitation of 6 vulnerabilities.
• Security Feature Bypass attacks: Windows Shell, MSHTML and Word vulnerabilities indicate large phishing campaigns.
• Privilege escalation: DWM and RDS vulnerabilities allow attackers to gain SYSTEM privileges after initial compromise.

Conclusion

The February update is effectively a red alert for security administrators.

Recommended patching strategy:

1. User workstations first. Patch Windows Shell, MSHTML and Word vulnerabilities.
2. Server infrastructure. Immediately patch RDS and DWM vulnerabilities.

Delaying updates significantly increases the risk of a successful attack.