Microsoft patches record 570 flaws, credits AI for surge in discoveries

Microsoft released an unprecedented 570 security patches this week as part of its monthly Patch Tuesday cycle, marking the largest single update in the company's history. The batch covers vulnerabilities across Windows, Office, SharePoint, and other product lines. At least two of the flaws are zero-days that were actively exploited before Microsoft could issue a fix. One bug in Windows Server enables attackers to escalate privileges from a limited user to a system administrator. Another affects SharePoint Server and has been exploited in the wild, with CISA warning that hackers are using it to compromise organizations. The news was first reported by Krebs on Security.

Microsoft attributes the surge in patches to its increasing use of AI to detect previously unknown security bugs in its software. Windows head Pavan Davuluri said in a blog post last week that customers should expect a higher volume of security updates in each release as AI helps defenders uncover more issues. As AI models grow more sophisticated and focused on cybersecurity, researchers are using them to find dormant vulnerabilities in legacy code — some parts of Windows date back decades. This trend is likely to continue, meaning organizations must prepare for larger and more frequent patch cycles.