{"id":46820,"date":"2022-05-25T19:45:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-25T19:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/microsoft-security-vulnerabilities-drop-after-five-year-rise\/"},"modified":"2022-05-25T19:45:00","modified_gmt":"2022-05-25T19:45:00","slug":"microsoft-security-vulnerabilities-drop-after-five-year-rise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/microsoft-security-vulnerabilities-drop-after-five-year-rise\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft security vulnerabilities drop after five-year rise"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The total number of Microsoft vulnerabilities reported in 2021 dropped by 5%, reversing a five-year trend that saw such vulnerabilities rising sharply, according to a new report from identity management and security vendor BeyondTrust.<\/p>\n

A total of 1,212 new vulnerabilities were discovered in 2021, but their severity, as well as their location in the Microsoft family of software products, has changed substantially year over year. Vulnerabilities rated as “critical” on the CVSS standard dropped by 47% in the past year, reaching their lowest levels since BeyondTrust began issuing this report, nine years ago.<\/p>\n

Vulnerabilities on Windows, Windows Server drop<\/h2>\n

Windows and Windows Server both saw sharp drops in total vulnerabilities detected, by 40% and 50%, respectively, while vulnerabilities affecting Microsoft’s Edge and Internet Explorer browsers hit a record high.<\/p>\n

Assisting in the latest analysis is Microsoft’s move to NIST’s common vulnerability scoring system, which lets researchers cross-reference security flaws more directly with bugs in the outside ecosystem.<\/p>\n

The most common type of vulnerability seen in 2021 involved privilege elevation, where an attacker gains admin rights to a system through illicit means. A total of 588 such vulnerabilities were discovered in 2021. BeyondTrust’s researchers credit a more widespread adherence to good security practices for this rise \u2014 perversely, a general decrease in users with unnecessary admin privileges helped focus bad actors’ efforts on attempts to gain elevated privileges in different ways.<\/p>\n

Attackers innovate to gain admin rights<\/h2>\n

“Without easy access to users with local admin rights, attackers have started to innovate to gain elevated privileges that can then be used to compromise systems, steal credentials, and move laterally,” the report said.<\/p>\n