CERT-IN Issues High-Risk Cyber Warning for Microsoft Users

The Indian government has issued a high-severity cybersecurity warning for a wide range of Microsoft products. The alert, released on August 18, 2025, by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), highlights multiple vulnerabilities that pose a significant threat to both individuals and organizations. The flaws affect everything from widely used consumer products like Windows and Office to enterprise and cloud platforms, including SQL Server, Dynamics, System Centre, Azure, and Extended Security Updates (ESU).

This advisory is particularly critical for India, a major market where millions of home users and large enterprises rely on Microsoft's ecosystem for daily operations. The vulnerabilities are not limited to the operating system and office suite but also extend to browsers, developer tools, and open-source software. This broad exposure puts users at a high risk of cyberattacks.

These high-severity flaws could allow attackers to perform a variety of malicious actions. Threat actors could gain elevated privileges, bypass security controls, and steal sensitive information such as documents and login credentials. They can also execute malicious code remotely, which could lead to system compromises, and launch denial-of-service (DoS) attacks to crash critical applications. Furthermore, attackers could spoof system settings or tamper with data integrity, increasing the risk of data leaks, ransomware attacks, and operational downtime.

CERT-In and Microsoft have issued an urgent call to action. They strongly recommend that both individual users and IT administrators install the latest security patches immediately. For corporate networks, timely patching is essential to prevent large-scale breaches. Microsoft has also advised users to:

·       Restrict administrative privileges.

·       Enable multi-factor authentication.

·       Maintain secure data backups.

·       Continuously monitor networks for suspicious activity.

This advisory underscores the importance of proactive cybersecurity measures. Delayed updates could leave millions of systems vulnerable to attackers seeking to exploit these flaws for financial gain, espionage, or large-scale disruption.