Every January security teams around the world pay close attention to Microsoft’s Patch Tuesday updates because they set the tone for cyber risk in the new year.
On January 13, 2026, Microsoft released its first security update cycle of the year, addressing a staggering 114 security vulnerabilities across Windows and related products, including three zero-day flaws – one of which was already being actively exploited in the wild.
This latest security update illustrates a fundamental truth about today’s threat landscape: vulnerabilities aren’t just theoretical risks. At least one of these zero-days is already being weaponized by attackers before defenders have a chance to react.
What Microsoft Patched in January 2026
According to the BleepingComputer report, Microsoft’s January 2026 Patch Tuesday includes fixes for 114 individual flaws, three of which are zero-day vulnerabilities, one actively exploited and two publicly disclosed prior to patch availability.
The breakdown of vulnerabilities gives insight into how diverse these risks are:
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57 elevation of privilege issues
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22 remote code execution vulnerabilities
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22 information disclosure bugs
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3 security feature bypass flaws
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2 denial of service issues
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5 spoofing vulnerabilities
Among the zero-day flaws patched this month was CVE-2026-20805, an actively exploited information disclosure vulnerability in the Desktop Window Manager that allows attackers to read sensitive memory and potentially set the stage for further exploitation.
Other zero-days include a Secure Boot certificate expiration bypass that weakens firmware protections, and a legacy third-party modem driver elevation of privilege issue that Microsoft has now removed entirely from Windows.
Why This Matters
Receiving and deploying patches is a critical part of maintaining a secure environment. But today’s reality is that patching alone is not enough. Attackers are increasingly exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities before defenders have fully deployed fixes. The moment a vulnerability becomes public, it enters a race: defenders try to patch, attackers exploit. Zero days tip the balance toward attackers.
The presence of three zero days in one update cycle – including one already being used in the wild – underscores the urgency for a security strategy that does more than detect and respond to threats after the fact.
Detect and Respond is Not Enough
Traditional endpoint security approaches focus on detecting malicious behavior and responding after an attack has been identified. This is reactive by design and leaves a window of exposure that attackers can exploit again and again. With zero days and polymorphic threats increasingly common, waiting for alerts or signatures leaves organizations vulnerable.
What’s needed is a shift toward proactive protection that isolates and contains threats before they can do damage.
Isolation and Containment with AppGuard
This is where AppGuard delivers real business value.
AppGuard is an endpoint protection solution with a proven 10-year track record of preventing breaches at enterprise scale. It works differently than legacy antivirus or EDR solutions by isolating applications and containing threats at execution time rather than waiting to detect them based on signatures or behavior patterns.
Here’s why that matters:
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Zero-day protection: AppGuard blocks unknown exploit attempts even before patches are applied because it does not rely on signatures.
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Broader resilience: By containing execution to trusted behaviors only, AppGuard prevents unauthorized code from running, stopping attacks in their tracks.
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Real world success: For over a decade AppGuard has defended high-risk environments where traditional security products often fail.
The Microsoft Patch Tuesday release highlights a persistent cycle: vulnerabilities are discovered, patches are released, and attackers exploit windows of opportunity. While patching is essential, it cannot be the sole line of defense.
A Better Way Forward
Business owners cannot afford to wait until after an attack to react. With sophisticated threat actors leveraging zero-days and other advanced techniques, security must be predictive, preventative, and proactive.
If your organization is still relying primarily on detect and respond solutions, you are leaving a gap in your defenses.
Talk with us at CHIPS about how AppGuard can protect your business right now. We will help you move beyond reactive security and adopt a modern endpoint protection strategy centered on isolation and containment to stop threats before they impact your business.
Contact CHIPS today to secure your organization with AppGuard and stay ahead of tomorrow’s threats.
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