Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

SecurityWeekSecurityWeek

Malware & Threats

Microsoft Patches Trio of Exploited Windows Hyper-V Zero-Days

Patch Tuesday: Microsoft’s January Patch Tuesday rollout includes fixes for 160 security defects, the largest number of CVEs addressed in any single month since at least 2017.

zero-day flaw

Microsoft’s struggles with zero-days have stretched into 2025 with fresh news of a trio of already-exploited vulnerabilities in the Windows Hyper-V platform.

The software giant on Tuesday called urgent attention to three separate flaws in the Windows Hyper-V NT Kernel Integration Virtualization Service Provider (VSP) and warned that malicious attackers are already launching privilege escalation exploits.

“An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain SYSTEM privileges,” Microsoft said in a series of barebones advisories.

As is customary, the company did not release technical details or IOCs (indicators of compromise) to help defenders hunt for signs of compromise.

The three exploited zero-days — CVE-2025-21334, CVE-2025-21333 and CVE-2025-21335 — affect the Windows Hyper-V NT Kernel Integration Virtualization Service Provider (VSP) that  handles efficient resource management and communication between the host system and guest virtual machines (VMs). 

The January Patch Tuesday rollout includes fixes for a whopping 160 security defects in a range of Windows OS, applications and components.  

Microsoft tagged 12 bulletins with critical-severity ratings and stressed that many of these issues can lead to remote code execution attacks.

Remote code execution risks have been identified in Microsoft Digest Authentication, Remote Desktop Services, WIndows OLE, Microsoft Excel and the Windows Reliable Multicast Transport Driver (RMCAST.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

According to ZDI, a company that tracks software vulnerabilities , this is the largest number of CVEs addressed in any single month since at least 2017 and is more than double the usual amount of CVEs fixed in January. 

“This comes on the heels of a record number of December patches and could be an ominous sign for patch levels in 2025,” according to ZDI data.

Related: Microsoft Confirms Zero-Day Exploitation of Task Scheduler Flaw

Related: Zero-Day Summer: Microsoft Warns of Fresh New Software Exploits

Related: Microsoft Warns of Six Windows Zero-Days Being Actively Exploited

Related: Zero-Click Exploit Drive Urgent Patching of Windows TCP/IP Flaw

Written By

Ryan Naraine is Editor-at-Large at SecurityWeek and host of the popular Security Conversations podcast series. He is a security community engagement expert who has built programs at major global brands, including Intel Corp., Bishop Fox and GReAT. Ryan is a founding-director of the Security Tinkerers non-profit, an advisor to early-stage entrepreneurs, and a regular speaker at security conferences around the world.

Trending

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing to stay informed on the latest threats, trends, and technology, along with insightful columns from industry experts.

Discover strategies for vendor selection, integration to minimize redundancies, and maximizing ROI from your cybersecurity investments. Gain actionable insights to ensure your stack is ready for tomorrow’s challenges.

Register

Dive into critical topics such as incident response, threat intelligence, and attack surface management. Learn how to align cyber resilience plans with business objectives to reduce potential impacts and secure your organization in an ever-evolving threat landscape.

Register

People on the Move

The US arm of networking giant TP-Link has appointed Adam Robertson as Director of Information and Security.

Cyber exposure management firm Armis has promoted Alex Mosher to President.

Software giant Atlassian has named David Cross as its new CISO.

More People On The Move

Expert Insights

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing to stay informed on the latest cybersecurity news, threats, and expert insights. Unsubscribe at any time.