Record Patch Tuesday and ‘ShieldCrash’ bypass highlight persistent Windows elevation risk

Microsoft addressed a record vulnerability count, including two actively exploited Windows zero-days (Update Stack and ALPC) now in CISA’s KEV, but a new ‘ShieldCrash’ exploit emerged days later to bypass recent Defender fixes. The PoC demonstrates arbitrary file reads with SYSTEM privileges on fully patched systems, extending a patch‑and‑bypass cycle seen in prior Defender flaws.