Summary: CISA has added CVE-2026-20805, an information disclosure vulnerability in the Microsoft Windows Desktop Window Manager (DWM), to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog. Attackers are currently using this memory leak to bypass security protections like ASLR (Address Space Layout Randomization), making other remote code execution (RCE) bugs more reliable.
Business Impact: While an information disclosure bug sounds minor, it is the critical first step in a “chained” attack. For your financial and governmental clients in Bahrain, this makes their Windows-based endpoints significantly more vulnerable to multi-stage ransomware attacks.
Why It Happened: Advanced persistent threat (APT) groups have weaponized this flaw to “climb the ladder of privileges.” By leaking memory addresses, they can defeat modern defenses that previously made exploitation unstable.
Recommended Executive Action: Prioritize the January 2026 Microsoft Patch Tuesday updates immediately. For high-value systems that cannot be patched instantly, monitor for anomalous DWM.exe behavior and isolate critical workstations.
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