Microsoft Defender (Malware Protection Engine) ↗
Summary iPlain-English security verdict for Microsoft Defender (Malware Protection Engine), generated from its current health score, actively-exploited vulnerabilities, and latest supported version.
Microsoft Defender (Malware Protection Engine) currently scores 20/100 — critical, with active exploitation. 2 of its known vulnerabilities are being actively exploited in the wild (CISA KEV), including CVE-2017-8540. Upgrade immediately and review your exposure to the actively-exploited CVEs below.
Disclosure trend iNew CVEs published for Microsoft Defender (Malware Protection Engine) each year (NVD). A higher bar means more disclosures that year — more scrutiny, not necessarily less safe.
Patch priority — what to act on iThe issues to fix first — actively exploited (CISA KEV) first, then by exploitation probability (EPSS), then severity. Each row's "→ fixed in" is the earliest version that patches it; "see advisory" means no fixed version is published.
Most urgent first — actively exploited, then likeliest to be exploited.
CVE-2017-8540 HIGH exploited Out-of-bounds write EPSS 72% → fixed in 1.1.13704.0 CVE-2026-41091 HIGH exploited CWE-59 EPSS 1% → fixed in 1.1.26040.8 CVE-2017-0290 HIGH Memory corruption EPSS 77% → see advisory CVE-2017-8538 HIGH Memory corruption EPSS 50% → see advisory CVE-2017-8541 HIGH Memory corruption EPSS 50% → see advisory CVE-2006-5270 HIGH EPSS 30% → see advisorySee all 28 known Microsoft Defender (Malware Protection Engine) CVEs & security history →
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Frequently asked
Is Microsoft Defender (Malware Protection Engine) safe and patched?
Microsoft Defender (Malware Protection Engine) currently scores 20/100 — critical, with active exploitation. 2 of its known vulnerabilities are being actively exploited in the wild (CISA KEV), including CVE-2017-8540. Upgrade immediately and review your exposure to the actively-exploited CVEs below.
What should I do about Microsoft Defender (Malware Protection Engine) now?
Review the patch-priority list, apply the available fixes (or move to the latest release), and confirm against Microsoft's official advisory. Some issues are under active exploitation, so treat this as urgent.
lifecycle unknown — needs latest supported version
Informational only, from public data (NVD · CISA KEV · EPSS · endoflife.date), and can lag or miss vendor-specific fixes. Always confirm against Microsoft's official advisory before you patch or upgrade — Microsoft Defender (Malware Protection Engine) official site ↗