Just last year, Microsoft had an eye-popping 1,360 vulnerabilities. That’s an 11% jump from the prior high of 1,292 vulnerabilities set last year in 2022. This trend upward is very troubling especially given the state of security around Microsoft products. This 2025 edition of the BeyondTrust Microsoft Vulnerabilities Report provides insightful analysis on the most critical, pervasive vulnerabilities. These discoveries support the argument for stronger security policies in the future.
In 2024, Microsoft announced its biggest decrease in critical vulnerabilities. Despite this, they only reported 78 individual cases, a decrease from their 2020 total of 196. Even with this positive trend of fewer critical issues, the total number of vulnerabilities is still at an all-time high. Our organizations are ever more reliant on Microsoft products. More connected devices means that timely and effective patch management is more important than ever.
EoP vulnerabilities were the stars of 2024. They accounted for a remarkable 40% of all vulnerabilities disclosed by Microsoft. Additionally, Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerabilities accounted for a whopping 32% of all disclosures. These trends highlight the importance of organizations focusing on these sorts of vulnerabilities first when developing their security plans.
Overview of Vulnerability Trends
The accumulation of the number of reported vulnerabilities across Microsoft’s product lines is a clear indication of a growing concern in the information security community. Windows—usually a major attack vector focus—saw a total of 587 disclosed vulnerabilities in 2024. Among these, 33 were classified as critical. This illustrates a large gap in the room for security teams trying to defend their systems from being exploited.
Microsoft Edge saw the largest jump in its total number of vulnerabilities. It increased by 17% over last year, for a total of 292 publicly known vulnerabilities. Among these, nine were deemed critical. The increase in reported vulnerabilities for Edge should serve as a reminder to any organization using this browser that they need to be on the lookout for new threats.
Additionally, Azure vulnerabilities have almost doubled since 2020, showcasing the growing complexity and adoption of cloud services. The security implications of this boom are huge, given how easily misconfigurations and unpatched vulnerabilities can expose an organization to serious compromise.
Further complicating the issue, the BeyondTrust report points to a disturbing trend. Security Feature Bypass vulnerabilities have more than tripled since 2020, skyrocketing from 30 disclosures in 2020 to 90 in 2023. This alarming trend underscores the necessity for organizations to thoroughly audit their security measures and ensure that security features are not easily bypassed by attackers.
Emerging Vulnerabilities and Their Impacts
Of the notable vulnerabilities listed in the notice, CVE-2024-38206 and CVE-2024-38109 are particularly concerning. These critical vulnerabilities were discovered on Microsoft Copilot Studio and Azure Health Bot, respectively. These types of findings are indicative of deeper undersights in commonly used software that can be leveraged by bad actors.
Also very impactful was CVE-2024-49138, a zero-day vulnerability discovered in the Common Log File System (CLFS) driver. This critical vulnerability enabled malicious actors to obtain SYSTEM-level compromised execution, which put users’ safeguard as well as system reliability at reproduction.
While we appreciate Microsoft’s attempt to patch for these vulnerabilities, some patches caused collateral damage. In some instances, patches undid more than they repaired, restoring systems to compromised states. This has led many to question the quality and stability of Microsoft’s patching process.
This changes the equation, requiring us to focus on quality and stability of patches, pointed out Morey J. Haber, Chief Security Advisor at BeyondTrust. He noted that delivering on this promise would restore faith in government. It would, in addition, incentivize these organizations to move into the full VM/PM lifecycle much faster.
Strategies for Mitigating Vulnerabilities
In order to protect against the increasing threat landscape that is outlined in the report, organizations are urged to adopt strong security postures. One of the top recommendations and best practices is to fully adopt a least privilege model, as well as implement zero trust controls. Combined, these strategies can remediate or mitigate 73% of all known critical vulnerabilities tied to Microsoft products.
Additionally, organizations must emphasize rapid deployment of security patches with appropriate in-house testing prior to release. Making sure that patches don’t create even bigger problems is critical for keeping systems safe and stable, as well as protecting private data.
Transparent ongoing measurement and evaluation is imperative. The report stresses the need for ongoing monitoring and assessment of vulnerability management programs. A proactive approach that includes regular audits and updates can help organizations stay ahead of emerging threats and ensure their systems remain secure.