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The April 2026 Security Update Review

It’s time once again for Patch Tuesday, and this one is huge. We’ve also got multiple exploits in the wild, which adds another layer of urgency to this month’s release. Take a break from your regularly scheduled activities, and let’s take a look at the latest security patches from Adobe and Microsoft. If you’d rather watch the full video recap covering the entire release, you can check it out here:

Adobe Patches for April 2026

For April, Adobe released 12 bulletins addressing 61 unique CVEs in Adobe Acrobat Reader, InDesign, InCopy, FrameMaker, Connect, ColdFusion, Bridge, Photoshop, Illustrator, Experience Manager Screens, and the Adobe DNG SDK. Three of the Cold Fusion bugs came through the TrendAI ZDI program. For this month, I’m introducing an Adobe table as well. I’d love to get your feedback on whether this is helpful.

Bulletin ID Product CVE Count Highest Severity Highest CVSS Exploited Deployment Priority
APSB26-43 Adobe Acrobat Reader 1 Critical 8.6 Yes 1
APSB26-44 Adobe Acrobat Reader 2 Critical 8.6 No 2
APSB26-32 Adobe InDesign 9 Critical 7.8 No 3
APSB26-33 Adobe InCopy 2 Critical 7.8 No 3
APSB26-36 Adobe FrameMaker 11 Critical 8.6 No 3
APSB26-37 Adobe Connect 9 Critical 9.6 No 3
APSB26-38 Adobe ColdFusion 7 Critical 9.3 No 1
APSB26-39 Adobe Bridge 6 Critical 7.8 No 3
APSB26-40 Adobe Photoshop 1 Critical 7.8 No 3
APSB26-42 Adobe Illustrator 1 Critical 7.8 No 3
APSB26-34 Adobe Experience Manager Screens 9 Important 5.4 No 3
APSB26-41 Adobe DNG SDK 3 Important 5.5 No 3

Obviously, the active attack in Reader is the highest priority for this month, but don’t ignore the second bunch of Reader patches. Cold Fusion also gets a deployment priority of 1, so if you’re still running that platform, make sure you get the update. Otherwise, the FrameMaker and Connect patches fix 11 and nine bugs, respectively. InDesign and Experience Manager Screens also have nine CVEs addressed.

Outside of the Reader bug, none of the other bugs fixed by Adobe this month are listed as publicly known or under active attack at the time of release. One of the Reader bugs and Cold Fusion have a deployment priority of one, the other Reader bug has a priority of two, while all of the other updates released by Adobe this month are listed as deployment priority 3.

Microsoft Patches for April 2026

This month, Microsoft released a monstrous 163 new CVEs in Windows and Windows components, Office and Office Components, Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based), Azure, .NET and Visual Studio, SQL Server, Hyper-V Server, BitLocker, and the Windows Wallet Service. Counting the third-party and a huge Chromium release, it brings the total number of CVEs to a staggering 247 updates. Six of these bugs were reported through the TrendAI ZDI program. Eight of these bugs are rated Critical, two are rated as Moderate, and the rest are rated Important in severity.

By my count, this is the second-largest monthly release in Microsoft’s history. There are many things we could speculate on to justify the size, but if Microsoft is like the other programs out there (including ours), they are likely seeing a rise in submissions found by AI tools. For us, our incoming rate has essentially tripled, making triage a challenge, to say the least. Whatever the reason, we have a lot of bugs to deal with this month. I should also point out that the Pwn2Own Berlin occurs next month, and it’s typical for vendors to patch as much as they can before the event.

There is one Microsoft bug listed as under active attack at the time of release, and one other that’s publicly known. Let’s take a closer look at some of the more interesting updates for this month, starting with the vulnerability being exploited in the wild:

-    CVE-2026-32201 - Microsoft SharePoint Server Spoofing Vulnerability
Microsoft doesn’t provide a lot of information about this bug, but Spoofing bugs in SharePoint often manifest as cross-site scripting (XSS) bugs. They do note that attackers could view information or make changes to disclosed information. As always, they don’t provide any information on how widespread these attacks are, but I wouldn’t wait to test and deploy this fix – especially if you have internet-connected SharePoint servers.

-    CVE-2026-33825 - Microsoft Defender Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
This bug is listed as publicly known, and this time, we know exactly where it was disclosed. There have been some questions about how exploitable this bug may be, but it does look like it’s a real problem – just with some reliability issues in its current state. I won’t add on to the commentary from the researcher about working with Microsoft. I’m just glad they are offering a fix for the vulnerability. If you rely on Defender, test and deploy this one quickly.

-   CVE-2026-33827 - Windows TCP/IP Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
This vulnerability allows remote, unauthenticated attackers to exploit code on affected systems without user interaction. That adds up to a wormable bug – at least on systems with IPv6 and IPSec enabled. It is a race condition, which sets exploitability to High on the CVSS scale, but we see race conditions exploited at Pwn2Own all the time, so don’t rely on that obstacle. If you’re running IPv6, I would test and deploy this fix quickly before public exploits become available.

-    CVE-2026-33824 - Windows Internet Key Exchange (IKE) Service Extensions Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
Speaking of wormable bugs, here’s our second one this month. By the title, we can tell that systems with IKE enabled are affected, but that leaves plenty of targets for attackers. Microsoft also notes a significant mitigation for this bug. Blocking UDP ports 500 and 4500 at the perimeter prevents external attackers from reaching the affected service. However, insiders could still target this for lateral movement within an enterprise. For enterprises using IKE, get this fix tested and deployed with haste.

Here’s the full list of CVEs released by Microsoft for April 2026:

April 2026 Patch Tuesday
CVE Title Severity CVSS Public Exploited Type
CVE-2026-32201 Microsoft SharePoint Server Spoofing Vulnerability Important 6.5 No Yes Spoofing
CVE-2026-5281 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5281 Use after free in Dawn High N/A No Yes RCE
CVE-2026-33825 Microsoft Defender Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 Yes No EoP
CVE-2026-23666 .NET Framework Denial of Service Vulnerability Critical 7.5 No No DoS
CVE-2026-32190 Microsoft Office Remote Code Execution Vulnerability Critical 8.4 No No RCE
CVE-2026-33114 Microsoft Word Remote Code Execution Vulnerability Critical 8.4 No No RCE
CVE-2026-33115 Microsoft Word Remote Code Execution Vulnerability Critical 8.4 No No RCE
CVE-2026-32157 Remote Desktop Client Remote Code Execution Vulnerability Critical 8.8 No No RCE
CVE-2026-33826 Windows Active Directory Remote Code Execution Vulnerability Critical 8 No No RCE
CVE-2026-33824 Windows Internet Key Exchange (IKE) Service Extensions Remote Code Execution Vulnerability Critical 9.8 No No RCE
CVE-2026-33827 Windows TCP/IP Remote Code Execution Vulnerability Critical 8.1 No No RCE
CVE-2026-26171 .NET Denial of Service Vulnerability Important 7.5 No No DoS
CVE-2026-32226 .NET Framework Denial of Service Vulnerability Important 5.9 No No DoS
CVE-2026-32178 .NET Spoofing Vulnerability Important 7.5 No No Spoofing
CVE-2026-32203 .NET and Visual Studio Denial of Service Vulnerability Important 7.5 No No DoS
CVE-2026-33116 .NET, .NET Framework, and Visual Studio Denial of Service Vulnerability Important 7.5 No No DoS
CVE-2023-20585 * AMD: CVE-2023-20585 IOMMU Write Buffer Vulnerability Important 5.3 No No RCE
CVE-2026-32072 Active Directory Spoofing Vulnerability Important 6.2 No No Spoofing
CVE-2026-25184 Applocker Filter Driver (applockerfltr.sys) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32171 Azure Logic Apps Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 8.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32168 Azure Monitor Agent Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32192 Azure Monitor Agent Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32181 Connected User Experiences and Telemetry Service Denial of Service Vulnerability Important 5.5 No No DoS
CVE-2026-27924 Desktop Window Manager Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32152 Desktop Window Manager Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32154 Desktop Window Manager Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-27923 Desktop Window Manager Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32155 Desktop Window Manager Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-23653 GitHub Copilot and Visual Studio Code Information Disclosure Vulnerability Important 5.7 No No Info
CVE-2026-23653 * GitHub: CVE-2026-32631 'git clone' from manipulated repositories can leak NTLM hashes Important 7.4 No No Info
CVE-2026-33096 HTTP.sys Denial of Service Vulnerability Important 7.5 No No DoS
CVE-2026-25250 * MITRE: CVE-2026-25250 Secure Boot disable Eazy Fix Important 6 No No SFB
CVE-2026-26181 Microsoft Brokering File System Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32219 Microsoft Brokering File System Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32091 Microsoft Brokering File System Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 8.4 No No EoP
CVE-2026-26152 Microsoft Cryptographic Services Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7 No No EoP
CVE-2026-33103 Microsoft Dynamics 365 (On-Premises) Information Disclosure Vulnerability Important 5.5 No No Info
CVE-2026-32188 Microsoft Excel Information Disclosure Vulnerability Important 7.1 No No Info
CVE-2026-32189 Microsoft Excel Remote Code Execution Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No RCE
CVE-2026-32197 Microsoft Excel Remote Code Execution Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No RCE
CVE-2026-32198 Microsoft Excel Remote Code Execution Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No RCE
CVE-2026-32199 Microsoft Excel Remote Code Execution Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No RCE
CVE-2026-32184 Microsoft High Performance Compute (HPC) Pack Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-26155 Microsoft Local Security Authority Subsystem Service Information Disclosure Vulnerability Important 6.5 No No Info
CVE-2026-27914 Microsoft Management Console Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-26149 Microsoft Power Apps Security Feature Bypass Important 9 No No SFB
CVE-2026-32200 Microsoft PowerPoint Remote Code Execution Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No RCE
CVE-2026-26143 Microsoft PowerShell Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No SFB
CVE-2026-33120 † Microsoft SQL Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability Important 8.8 No No RCE
CVE-2026-20945 Microsoft SharePoint Server Spoofing Vulnerability Important 4.6 No No Spoofing
CVE-2026-33822 Microsoft Word Information Disclosure Vulnerability Important 6.1 No No Info
CVE-2026-33095 Microsoft Word Remote Code Execution Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No RCE
CVE-2026-23657 Microsoft Word Remote Code Execution Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No RCE
CVE-2026-32081 Package Catalog Information Disclosure Vulnerability Important 5.5 No No Info
CVE-2026-26170 PowerShell Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-26183 Remote Access Management service/API (RPC server) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-26160 Remote Desktop Licensing Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-26159 Remote Desktop Licensing Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-26151 Remote Desktop Spoofing Vulnerability Important 7.1 No No Spoofing
CVE-2026-32085 Remote Procedure Call Information Disclosure Vulnerability Important 5.5 No No Info
CVE-2026-32167 SQL Server Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 6.7 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32176 SQL Server Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 6.7 No No EoP
CVE-2026-0390 UEFI Secure Boot Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability Important 6.7 No No SFB
CVE-2026-32220 UEFI Secure Boot Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability Important 4.4 No No SFB
CVE-2026-32212 Universal Plug and Play (upnp.dll) Information Disclosure Vulnerability Important 5.5 No No Info
CVE-2026-32214 Universal Plug and Play (upnp.dll) Information Disclosure Vulnerability Important 5.5 No No Info
CVE-2026-32079 Web Account Manager Information Disclosure Vulnerability Important 5.5 No No Info
CVE-2026-33104 Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32196 Windows Admin Center Spoofing Vulnerability Important 6.1 No No Spoofing
CVE-2026-26178 Windows Advanced Rasterization Platform Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 8.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32073 Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7 No No EoP
CVE-2026-26168 Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-26173 Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7 No No EoP
CVE-2026-26177 Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7 No No EoP
CVE-2026-26182 Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7 No No EoP
CVE-2026-27922 Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7 No No EoP
CVE-2026-33099 Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7 No No EoP
CVE-2026-33100 Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32088 Windows Biometric Service Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability Important 6.1 No No SFB
CVE-2026-27913 Windows BitLocker Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability Important 7.7 No No SFB
CVE-2026-26175 Windows Boot Manager Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability Important 4.6 No No SFB
CVE-2026-32162 Windows COM Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 8.4 No No EoP
CVE-2026-20806 Windows COM Server Information Disclosure Vulnerability Important 5.5 No No Info
CVE-2026-26176 Windows Client Side Caching driver (csc.sys) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-27926 Windows Cloud Files Mini Filter Driver Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32070 Windows Common Log File System Driver Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7 No No EoP
CVE-2026-33098 Windows Container Isolation FS Filter Driver Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-26153 Windows Encrypted File System (EFS) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32087 Windows Function Discovery Service (fdwsd.dll) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32093 Windows Function Discovery Service (fdwsd.dll) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32086 Windows Function Discovery Service (fdwsd.dll) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32150 Windows Function Discovery Service (fdwsd.dll) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7 No No EoP
CVE-2026-27931 Windows GDI Information Disclosure Vulnerability Important 5.5 No No Info
CVE-2026-27930 Windows GDI Information Disclosure Vulnerability Important 5.5 No No Info
CVE-2026-32221 Windows Graphics Component Remote Code Execution Vulnerability Important 8.4 No No RCE
CVE-2026-27906 Windows Hello Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability Important 4.4 No No SFB
CVE-2026-27928 Windows Hello Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability Important 8.7 No No SFB
CVE-2026-26156 Windows Hyper-V Remote Code Execution Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No RCE
CVE-2026-32149 Windows Hyper-V Remote Code Execution Vulnerability Important 7.3 No No RCE
CVE-2026-27910 Windows Installer Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-27912 Windows Kerberos Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-26179 Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-26180 Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32195 Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7 No No EoP
CVE-2026-26163 Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32215 Windows Kernel Information Disclosure Vulnerability Important 5.5 No No Info
CVE-2026-32217 Windows Kernel Information Disclosure Vulnerability Important 5.5 No No Info
CVE-2026-32218 Windows Kernel Information Disclosure Vulnerability Important 5.5 No No Info
CVE-2026-26169 Windows Kernel Memory Information Disclosure Vulnerability Important 6.1 No No Info
CVE-2026-27929 Windows LUA File Virtualization Filter Driver Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32071 Windows Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS) Denial of Service Vulnerability Important 7.5 No No DoS
CVE-2026-20930 Windows Management Services Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-26162 Windows OLE Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-33101 Windows Print Spooler Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32084 Windows Print Spooler Information Disclosure Vulnerability Important 5.5 No No Info
CVE-2026-27927 Windows Projected File System Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-26184 Windows Projected File System Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32069 Windows Projected File System Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32074 Windows Projected File System Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32078 Windows Projected File System Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-26167 Windows Push Notifications Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 8.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32158 Windows Push Notifications Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32159 Windows Push Notifications Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32160 Windows Push Notifications Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-26172 Windows Push Notifications Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-20928 Windows Recovery Environment Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability Important 4.6 No No SFB
CVE-2026-32216 Windows Redirected Drive Buffering System Denial of Service Vulnerability Important 5.5 No No DoS
CVE-2026-27909 Windows Search Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-26161 Windows Sensor Data Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-26174 Windows Server Update Service (WSUS) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32224 Windows Server Update Service (WSUS) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7 No No EoP
CVE-2026-26154 Windows Server Update Service (WSUS) Tampering Vulnerability Important 7.5 No No Tampering
CVE-2026-26165 Windows Shell Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7 No No EoP
CVE-2026-26166 Windows Shell Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7 No No EoP
CVE-2026-27918 Windows Shell Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32151 Windows Shell Information Disclosure Vulnerability Important 6.5 No No Info
CVE-2026-32225 Windows Shell Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability Important 8.8 No No SFB
CVE-2026-32202 Windows Shell Spoofing Vulnerability Important 4.3 No No Spoofing
CVE-2026-32082 Windows Simple Search and Discovery Protocol (SSDP) Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32083 Windows Simple Search and Discovery Protocol (SSDP) Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32068 Windows Simple Search and Discovery Protocol (SSDP) Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32183 Windows Snipping Tool Remote Code Execution Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No RCE
CVE-2026-32089 Windows Speech Brokered Api Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32090 Windows Speech Brokered Api Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32153 Windows Speech Runtime Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-27907 Windows Storage Spaces Controller Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32076 Windows Storage Spaces Controller Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-27908 Windows TDI Translation Driver (tdx.sys) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7 No No EoP
CVE-2026-27921 Windows TDI Translation Driver (tdx.sys) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7 No No EoP
CVE-2026-27915 Windows UPnP Device Host Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-27919 Windows UPnP Device Host Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32075 Windows UPnP Device Host Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7 No No EoP
CVE-2026-27916 Windows UPnP Device Host Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-27920 Windows UPnP Device Host Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32077 Windows UPnP Device Host Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-27925 Windows UPnP Device Host Information Disclosure Vulnerability Important 6.5 No No Info
CVE-2026-32156 Windows UPnP Device Host Remote Code Execution Vulnerability Important 7.4 No No RCE
CVE-2026-32223 Windows USB Printing Stack (usbprint.sys) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 6.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32165 Windows User Interface Core Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-27911 Windows User Interface Core Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32163 Windows User Interface Core Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32164 Windows User Interface Core Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-23670 Windows Virtualization-Based Security (VBS) Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability Important 5.7 No No SFB
CVE-2026-27917 Windows WFP NDIS Lightweight Filter Driver (wfplwfs.sys) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32080 Windows WalletService Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7 No No EoP
CVE-2026-32222 Windows Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability Important 7.8 No No EoP
CVE-2026-21637 * HackerOne: CVE-2026-21637 TLS PSK/ALPN Callback Exceptions Bypass Error Handlers Moderate 7.5 No No SFB
CVE-2026-33119 Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based) for Android Spoofing Vulnerability Moderate 5.4 No No Spoofing
CVE-2026-33829 Windows Snipping Tool Spoofing Vulnerability Moderate 4.3 No No Spoofing
CVE-2026-5858 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5858 Heap buffer overflow in WebML Critical N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5859 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5859 Integer overflow in WebML Critical N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5272 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5272 Heap buffer overflow in GPU High N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5273 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5273 Use after free in CSS High N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5274 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5274 Integer overflow in Codecs High N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5275 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5275 Heap buffer overflow in ANGLE High N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5276 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5276 Insufficient policy enforcement in WebUSB High N/A No No SFB
CVE-2026-5277 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5277 Integer overflow in ANGLE High N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5279 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5279 Object corruption in V8 High N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5280 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5280 Use after free in WebCodecs High N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5283 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5283 Inappropriate implementation in ANGLE High N/A No No SFB
CVE-2026-5284 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5284 Use after free in Dawn High N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5285 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5285 Use after free in WebGL High N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5286 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5286 Use after free in Dawn High N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5287 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5287 Use after free in PDF High N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5289 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5289 Use after free in Navigation High N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5290 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5290 Use after free in Compositing High N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5860 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5860 Use after free in WebRTC High N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5861 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5861 Use after free in V8 High N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5862 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5862 Inappropriate implementation in V8 High N/A No No SFB
CVE-2026-5863 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5863 Inappropriate implementation in V8 High N/A No No SFB
CVE-2026-5864 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5864 Heap buffer overflow in WebAudio High N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5865 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5865 Type Confusion in V8 High N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5866 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5866 Use after free in Media High N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5867 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5867 Heap buffer overflow in WebML High N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5868 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5868 Heap buffer overflow in ANGLE High N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5869 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5869 Heap buffer overflow in WebML High N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5870 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5870 Integer overflow in Skia High N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5871 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5871 Type Confusion in V8 High N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5872 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5872 Use after free in Blink High N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5873 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5873 Out of bounds read and write in V8 High N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5291 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5291 Inappropriate implementation in WebGL Medium N/A No No SFB
CVE-2026-5292 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5292 Out of bounds read in WebCodecs Medium N/A No No Info
CVE-2026-5874 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5874 Use after free in PrivateAI Medium N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5875 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5875 Policy bypass in Blink Medium N/A No No SFB
CVE-2026-5876 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5876 Side-channel information leakage in Navigation Medium N/A No No Info
CVE-2026-5877 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5877 Use after free in Navigation Medium N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5878 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5878 Incorrect security UI in Blink Medium N/A No No Spoofing
CVE-2026-5879 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5879 Insufficient validation of untrusted input in ANGLE Medium N/A No No SFB
CVE-2026-5880 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5880 Incorrect security UI in browser UI Medium N/A No No Spoofing
CVE-2026-5881 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5881 Policy bypass in LocalNetworkAccess Medium N/A No No SFB
CVE-2026-5882 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5882 Incorrect security UI in Fullscreen Medium N/A No No Spoofing
CVE-2026-5883 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5883 Use after free in Media Medium N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5884 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5884 Insufficient validation of untrusted input in Media Medium N/A No No SFB
CVE-2026-5885 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5885 Insufficient validation of untrusted input in WebML Medium N/A No No SFB
CVE-2026-5886 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5886 Out of bounds read in WebAudio Medium N/A No No Info
CVE-2026-5887 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5887 Insufficient validation of untrusted input in Downloads Medium N/A No No SFB
CVE-2026-5888 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5888 Uninitialized Use in WebCodecs Medium N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5889 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5889 Cryptographic Flaw in PDFium Medium N/A No No SFB
CVE-2026-5890 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5890 Race in WebCodecs Medium N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5891 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5891 Insufficient policy enforcement in browser UI Medium N/A No No SFB
CVE-2026-5892 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5892 Insufficient policy enforcement in PWAs Medium N/A No No SFB
CVE-2026-5893 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5893 Race in V8 Medium N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5894 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5894 Inappropriate implementation in PDF Low N/A No No SFB
CVE-2026-5895 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5895 Incorrect security UI in Omnibox Low N/A No No Spoofing
CVE-2026-5896 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5896 Policy bypass in Audio Low N/A No No SFB
CVE-2026-5897 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5897 Incorrect security UI in Downloads Low N/A No No Spoofing
CVE-2026-5898 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5898 Incorrect security UI in Omnibox Low N/A No No Spoofing
CVE-2026-5899 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5899 Incorrect security UI in History Navigation Low N/A No No Spoofing
CVE-2026-5900 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5900 Policy bypass in Downloads Low N/A No No SFB
CVE-2026-5901 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5901 Policy bypass in DevTools Low N/A No No SFB
CVE-2026-5902 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5902 Race in Media Low N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5903 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5903 Policy bypass in IFrameSandbox Low N/A No No SFB
CVE-2026-5904 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5904 Use after free in V8 Low N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5905 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5905 Incorrect security UI in Permissions Low N/A No No Spoofing
CVE-2026-5906 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5906 Incorrect security UI in Omnibox Low N/A No No Spoofing
CVE-2026-5907 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5907 Insufficient data validation in Media Low N/A No No SFB
CVE-2026-5908 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5908 Integer overflow in Media Low N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5909 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5909 Integer overflow in Media Low N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5910 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5910 Integer overflow in Media Low N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5911 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5911 Policy bypass in ServiceWorkers Low N/A No No SFB
CVE-2026-5912 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5912 Integer overflow in WebRTC Low N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5913 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5913 Out of bounds read in Blink Low N/A No No Info
CVE-2026-5914 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5914 Type Confusion in CSS Low N/A No No RCE
CVE-2026-5915 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5915 Insufficient validation of untrusted input in WebML Low N/A No No SFB
CVE-2026-5918 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5918 Inappropriate implementation in Navigation Low N/A No No SFB
CVE-2026-5919 * Chromium: CVE-2026-5919 Insufficient validation of untrusted input in WebSockets Low N/A No No SFB
CVE-2026-33118 Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based) Spoofing Vulnerability Low 4.3 No No Spoofing

* Indicates this CVE had been released by a third party and is now being included in Microsoft releases.

† Indicates further administrative actions are required to fully address the vulnerability.

 

Looking at the other Critical-rated bugs in this month’s release, there are three Office-related bugs where the Preview Pane is once again listed as an exploit vector. I would still like to have a full-proof way of disabling the Preview Pane, but I don’t see that as an option. There’s a bug in the RDP client, but that involves connecting to a malicious RDP server. The bug in Active Directory requires authentication and a network adjacent attacker. The final Critical-rated bug is an interesting DoS in .NET Framework. An unauthenticated attacker could deny service over a network – presumably crippling any affected app made in .NET. You rarely see Critical-rated DoS bugs, but this one deserves the moniker.

Moving on to the other code execution bugs, you have quite a few open-and-own bugs in Office components, most notably Excel, where the Preview Pane is not an attack vector. The bug in SQL Server requires authentication, and as usual, additional steps are needed to ensure you have the correct update to remediate this vulnerability. The two bugs in Hyper-V almost reads like a privilege escalation since it allows unauthorized attackers to execute code locally. That’s the same for the bugs in the Windows Snipping Tool and the UPnP Device host.

More than half of this release addresses Elevation of Privilege (EoP) bugs. However, most simply lead to local attackers executing their code at SYSTEM-level privileges or administrative privileges, so there’s not much to add without further technical details about the bugs themselves. The bugs in SQL Server could allow an attacker to gain SQL sysadmin privileges. One of the kernel bugs simply states an attacker could “elevate privileges locally”. How obtuse. That’s similar for the bug in afd.sys and Desktop Windows Manager, but Microsoft also states that these bugs could crash an affected system. There are several bugs that result in a sandbox escape, including Windows Push Notifications, AFD for Winsock, Management Services, and User Interface Core. Of these, CVE-2026-26167 (Push Notifications) is the most notable — it's the only one with low attack complexity, meaning no race condition needed. The rest all require winning a race condition (AC:H). The bugs in UPnP are interesting as they allow attackers to gain access to a limited set of administrator-protected objects. Not a full escalation but definitely getting access to resources they shouldn’t. The vulnerability in the Brokering File System allows attackers to gain the level of the logged on user, so don’t do your normal activities as a user with admin privileges. The bug in Azure Monitor Agent leads to root-level access.

There are a dozen different security features bypass bugs in the April release. Some of these are obvious by the title alone. For example, the bugs in Windows Hello bypass safety features within the Hello app itself. The bug in the Biometric Service allows attackers to bypass biometric protections. The vulns in BitLocker and Secure Boot bypass protections in those components. The bug in Power Apps allows attackers to bypass a security warning dialog and trick targets into triggering an external protocol call that performs unintended actions on the user’s device. The bug in Windows Shell allows attackers to bypass Mark of the Web (MotW) protections. The bug in PowerShell could almost be described as a code execution bug as exploiting it bypasses dynamic-expression security checks, which could result in code execution. The vulnerability in the Windows Recovery Environment allows local attackers to bypass BitLocker device encryption. Finally, the bug in Virtualization‑Based Security (VBS) is the most interesting of the bunch – and not just because VBS is a (relatively) new feature. The problem allows attackers to manipulate allow a compromised Windows kernel to modify memory belonging to the secure kernel, breaking the intended isolation guarantees provided by VBS. Somewhat of a sandbox escape, but this time, you’re escaping from Virtual Trust Level 0 (VTL0) to Virtual Trust Level 1 (VTL1). Neat.

Moving on to the Information Disclosure bugs fixed this month, we have 20 different CVEs. Fortunately, most of these simply result in info leaks consisting of unspecified memory contents or memory addresses. While useful in crafting exploits, they aren’t exactly exciting on their own. There are also several bugs that disclose addresses from an object a contained in a sandboxed execution environment. This includes bugs in the Print Spooler, Package Catalog, and Web Account Manager. The bug in Dynamics 365 discloses the ever ineffable “sensitive information”. There are three different info disclosure bugs in UPnP. Two allow an attacker to read from the file system, while the third discloses anything available to the LOCAL SERVICE account. The final info disclosure bug resides in Copilot and Visual Studio and allows attackers to disclose the contents of the Model Context Protocol (MCP) when using Copilot. There are those who think MCP is dead (thanks to agentic AI agents), but if you’re using a custom MCP, I doubt you would want it leaked.

The April release contains just a handful of Spoofing bugs. Some, like the bugs in .NET, Active Directory, and Windows Shell, just say that they allow spoofing over a network. Others, like the bug in Windows Snipping Tool, say similar but also note that it could be used to relay NTLMv2 hashes. The patch for RDP notes that there are new warning dialogs coming this month. The bug in the Windows Admin Center would allow an attacker to interact with other tenant’s applications and content. Finally, the spoofing bug in SharePoint is another XSS issue.

There are eight DoS bugs in the April release, but as always, Microsoft provides no actionable information about the vulnerabilities. Microsoft does offer a mitigation for the http.sys bug that can be applied while you test and deploy the patch, but I would rely on the patch rather than the mitigation. Another exception is the bug for Connected User Experiences and Telemetry Service, which allows attackers to deny service locally rather than over the network.

The final(!) bug in the April release is a Tampering bug in WSUS that reads like a DoS. According to Microsoft, “An attacker can send specially crafted packets which could affect availability of the service and result in Denial of Service (DoS).” But sure – let’s call it Tampering.

No new advisories are being released this month.

Looking Ahead

I will be in Berlin for the next Patch Tuesday, which will be May 12, and I’ll provide my full thoughts then on what will hopefully be a smaller release than this one. Until then, stay safe, happy patching, and may all your reboots be smooth and clean!

Analysis of Counter-Ransomware Activities in 2024

 


The scourge of ransomware continues primarily because of three main reasons: Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS), cryptocurrency, and safe havens.

  • RaaS platforms enable aspiring cybercriminals to join a gang and begin launching attacks with a support system that help extract ransom payments from their victims.
  • Cryptocurrency enables cybercriminals to receive funds from victims around the world without the option to freeze or refund them due to the immutable nature of the virtual funds.
  • Safe havens are countries that permit cybercriminals to launch attacks without immediate fear of arrest, enabling them to earn vast fortunes through ransomware campaigns.

With these three challenges in mind, law enforcement and governments have a very difficult job to do when it comes to fighting ransomware but fight it they must. In this blog we shall recall what counter-ransomware activities took place in 2024, analyse their effectiveness, and assess how the landscape shall evolve as a result.

A podcast version of this blog is also available here.

Ransomware Operator Arrests and Sanctions

During 2024, there were significant disruption operations by law enforcement and financial authorities targeting individuals behind ransomware campaigns (see the Table below). The main focus of 2024 for Western law enforcement was squarely on the LockBit RaaS and its affiliates as it was the largest and highest earning ransomware operation to date.

Several key players of the ransomware ecosystem were arrested, including the main developer of LockBit ransomware. Interestingly, Russian law enforcement also decided to arrest ransomware threat actors located in Moscow and Kaliningrad as well.

Law Enforcement Activity
Month Group(s) Law Enforcement Activity
February 2024 SugarLocker, REvil Russian authorities have identified and arrested three alleged members in Moscow of a ransomware gang called SugarLocker.
February 2024 LockBit The LockBit leak site was seized. Two LockBit affiliates were arrested in Poland and Ukraine. Up to 28 servers belonging to LockBit were taken down.
February 2024 LockBit Two Russian nationals, Ivan Kondratiev and Artur Sungatov, were sanctioned by the US Treasury for being affiliates of LockBit, among other RaaS.
May 2024 LockBit Dmitry Khoroshev, the administrator and developer of LockBit was sanctioned by the US Treasury.
May 2024 IcedID, SystemBC, Pikabot, Smokeloader, Bumblebee, TrickBot European police took down malicious spam botnets that support ransomware campaigns. This resulted in 4 arrests (1 in Armenia and 3 in Ukraine), over 100 servers and 2,000 domains being seized. One of the main suspects earned €69 million by renting out infrastructure sites to deploy ransomware.
June 2024 Conti, LockBit A Ukrainian national was arrested for supporting Conti and LockBit ransomware attacks as a crypter developer.
August 2024 Reveton, RansomCartel Maksim Silnikau, a Belarusian national, was arrested in Spain for running Reveton and RansomCartel.
August 2024 Karakurt, Conti Deniss Zolotarjovs, a Latvian national was arrested and extradited to the US from Georgia for running the Karakurt data extortion gang linked to Conti.
October 2024 Evil Corp, LockBit The UK, alongside the US and Australia, has sanctioned 16 members of Evil Corp, including Aleksandr Ryzhenkov, Viktor Yakubets, and Eduard Benderskiy.
November 2024 Phobos Evgenii Ptitsyn, a Russian national, was arrested and extradited to the US from South Korea for running the Phobos ransomware gang.
December 2024 LockBit Rostislav Panev, a dual Russian and Israeli national, was arrested in Israel for developing LockBit ransomware.
December 2024 LockBit, Babuk, Hive Mikhail “Wazawaka” Matveev was arrested in Russia for violating domestic laws against the creation and use of malware. He was fined and had his cryptocurrency seized and is awaiting trial.

The ransomware ecosystem has fragmented due to the law enforcement disruptions of the largest players, such as ALPHV/BlackCat and LockBit. In the case of ALPHV/BlackCat, the operators staged a law enforcement takedown as they put up a fake seizure notice as part of an exit scam in March 2024 after the attack on UnitedHealth.

Following these disruptions, some affiliates have migrated to less effective strains or launched their own strains. This includes Akira and RansomHub at the top of the list as well as Hunters International and PLAY.

Cryptocurrency Exchanges Disrupted

During 2024, law enforcement seized funds from and sanctioned a number of cryptocurrency exchanges and individuals running payment processors using cryptocurrency (see the Table below).

One of the most interesting disclosures this year came from the UK National Crime Agency (NCA) around Operation Destablise. The NCA linked payments to ransomware gangs to money laundering networks used by Russian oligarchs to covertly purchase property and Russia Today, the state-run media organization, to covertly fund pro-Russia foreign entities.

Another notable investigation in 2024 was when the US Treasury sanctioned more Russian cryptocurrency exchanges, such as PM2BTC and Cryptex, that led to money launderers that facilitate the cashing out of ransom payments being arrested by Russian law enforcement.

Law Enforcement Activity
Month Exchange(s) Law Enforcement Activity
August 2024 Cryptonator The US Justice Department indicted Russian national Roman Pikulev and Cryptonator, which processed a total of $1.4 billion in transactions, of which $8 million were ransom payments. Cryptonator also has ties to other sanctioned entities including Blender, Hydra Market, Bitzlato, and Garantex, among others.
September 2024 PM2BTC, Cryptex, UAPS FinCEN identified PM2BTC as being of “primary money laundering concern” in connection with Russian illicit finance. This was alongside Cryptex and Sergey Sergeevich Ivanov, a Russian national, who is associated with UAPS and PinPays, as well as Genesis Market. Cryptex also facilitated more than $115 million of proceeds from ransomware payments.
September 2024 47 exchanges In Operation Final Exchange, German federal police (BKA) shut down 47 cryptocurrency exchange services that ransomware gangs use that operated without requiring registration or identity verification.
October 2024 Cryptex, UAPS Russian authorities have arrested nearly 100 suspected cybercriminals linked to the anonymous payment system UAPS and the cryptocurrency exchange Cryptex.
November 2024 Smart, TGR Group The NCA uncovered a Russian money-laundering network operated by two companies called Smart and TGR Group as part of Operation Destabilise that involved UK-based cash-to-crypto networks that laundered Ryuk ransom payments as well as the money of Russian oligarchs and Russia Today.

Safe Havens Enabling Ransomware

While ransomware is a global problem, there are only a few countries that are to blame for this rapid expansion of the ransomware ecosystem. The state that is blamed the most for preventing many ransomware operators from facing justice is Russia. There are explicit rules posted to Russian-speaking cybercrime forums that state as long as members avoid targeting Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), they are free to operate.

The Russian ransomware safe haven theory was further proven following sanctions levied against Evil Corp by the UK, US, and Australia. One of the sanctioned men connected to Evil Corp was Eduard Benderskiy, a former Russian federal security service (FSB) official. Benderskiy is reportedly the father-in-law of Maksim Yakubets, the leader of Evil Corp, an organized cybercrime group responsible for multiple ransomware strains including BitPaymer, WastedLocker, Hades, PhoenixLocker, and MacawLocker. In total, Evil Corp has reportedly extorted at least $300 million from victims globally, according to the UK NCA. It is now clear that Evil Corp has protection from a highly connected Russian FSB official who has also been involved in multiple overseas assassinations on behalf of the Kremlin, according to Bellingcat investigators.

While a number of ransomware operators were arrested in 2024 and some were extradited to the US, the work done by law enforcement specializing in cybercrime was put in the spotlight during the August 2024 prisoner swap. Multiple countries decided to release cybercriminals, spies and an assassin as part of a historic prisoner exchange with Russia at an airport in Ankara, Turkey. The US negotiated the release of 16 people from Russia, including five Germans as well as seven Russian citizens who were political prisoners in their own country.

Notably, from a cybercrime intelligence perspective, the Russian nationals released from the West included the infamous cybercriminals Roman Seleznev and Vladislav Klyushin. The latter, Klyushin, was sentenced in 2023 to nine years in US prison after he was caught in a $93 million stock market cheating scheme that involved hacking into US companies for insider knowledge. The other cybercriminal, Seleznev, was sentenced to 27 years in prison in 2017 for stealing and selling millions of credit card numbers from 500 businesses using point-of-sale (POS) malware and causing more than $169 million in damage to small businesses and financial institutions, including those in the US.

In 2024, we saw several more Russian nationals get extradited to the US after being arrested by law enforcement in the country they were residing in. This includes the Phobos operator living in South Korea and the LockBit developer living in Israel. This follows others arrested in previous years such as a TrickBot developer arrested in South Korea as well as the two LockBit affiliates extradited to the US. There is a potential that these Russian nationals involved in ransomware could be used in prisoner exchanges in the future.

Further, another curious trend in 2024 was that some Russians inside Russia, which is firmly considered a safe haven for ransomware gang, did get arrested. This includes the SugarLocker operators arrested in Moscow and the LockBit affiliate Wazawaka who was arrested in Kaliningrad. This is alongside the money launderers arrested around Russia linked to the Cryptex exchange.

The arrests of Russian nationals in Russia for ransomware activities appear to be more symbolic than a true crackdown on this type of activity. This is because there are several dozen Russian-speaking ransomware gangs that continue to operate, as well as a plethora of other types of cybercrime in the Russian-speaking underground.

Outlook

In 2024, there was lots of significant action by law enforcement to shake up the ransomware economy. One of the main successes of the notable Operation Cronos action taken against LockBit was the sowing of distrust and disharmony in the ransomware ecosystem. Despite the admins of LockBit trying to recover, their reputation and army of affiliates have been smashed.

Many of Russian law enforcement activities could all be related to the costs of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russian authorities seizing funds of the illicit cryptocurrency exchanges could be to pay for the war in Ukraine and they could be recruiting arresting cybercriminals for offensive cyber operations related to the war in Ukraine. The true motivations of Russian law enforcement arresting these specific ransomware operators but allowing others to operate are unclear. The cybercriminals could also simply have not paid their protection money or lack connections in the FSB like Evil Corp has.

Due to the fall of LockBit and ALPHV/BlackCat in 2024, there has been a rise of other ransomware groups like RansomHub and Akira to fill the vacuum. However, the rate of attacks by these emerging groups is still noticeably lower than when LockBit was operating at full force. This should be perceived as a success for law enforcement operations in 2024 due to the overall number of ransomware attacks lowering, which we should all be thankful for.

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