Security Crisis Looms as 70% of Windows Users are Exposed to Major Vulnerabilities

The urgency of the threat is heightened by Microsoft’s upcoming October 14, 2025, end-of-support date for Windows 10

Microsoft is encountering increasing scrutiny as nearly 70% of its Windows user base remains exposed to major vulnerabilities. Recent warnings from the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) further expose the gravity of the situation. The agency has flagged a 2018 vulnerability, CVE-2018-0824, in Microsoft COM for Windows, now listed in its Exploited Vulnerability (KEV) catalog. This flaw, which is capable of remote code execution and privilege escalation, is linked to recent attacks by the Chinese hacking group APT41.

The urgency of the threat is heightened by Microsoft’s upcoming October 14, 2025, end-of-support date for Windows 10. Users are advised to upgrade to Windows 11 to avoid security risks. Despite Microsoft’s full-screen warnings and a substantial rise in Windows 11 adoption—now toping 30% market share—more than twice of the users remain on the vulnerable Windows 10 platform. The slow migration to Windows 11, along with an increase in exploitation attempts, is looming trouble. According to experts, the impending deadline could turn the Windows 10 landscape into a "hackers' paradise," with bad actors most likely to take advantage of the situation.

With the approaching deadline, the users are under pressure to upgrade and secure their systems against increasingly advanced threats.