Kb3186973 Fixes Major Windows Kernel Vulnerability In All Windows Editions

Microsoft’s latest Patch Tuesday brought 14 important security updates to make your system stronger against hackers’ attacks. Half of the vulnerabilities patches could allow attackers to run specially crafted applications to elevate the system privilege.

One of the most important security updates is KB3186973 which fixes one major Windows Kernel vulnerability affecting all Windows editions. There are multiple Windows session object elevation of privilege vulnerabilities that exist in the manner that Windows handles session objects. These vulnerabilities allow a locally authenticated attacker to hijack the session of another user.

Security update KB3186973 corrects how Windows handles session objects in order to prevent user session hijacking, and stop hackers from accessing sensitive registry information.

Installing KB3186973 is extremely important since there are no workarounds available to patch this Kernel vulnerability. Once again, this is a major security issue because it allows hackers to gain access to user account information, and it affects Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012, and Windows 10.

This security update is rated Important for all supported releases of Microsoft Windows […] The security update addresses the vulnerabilities by correcting how Windows handles session objects, and by correcting how the Windows Kernel API enforces user permissions and restricts access to user information.

You can install KB3186973 by checking the available updates in the Windows Update Center, or you can go to the Microsoft Update Catalog and the Microsoft Download Center to download the stand-alone update package.

For more information about this security update and the vulnerability it patches, you can check out Microsoft’s Security Bulletin.