Check Point and Microsoft Urge Immediate Patching as Hackers Exploit Root-Access and Outlook Zero-Days

Check Point Software has released emergency hotfixes after discovering that attackers have been quietly exploiting a high-severity zero-day vulnerability since late October to gain root privileges and establish persistent backdoors on network security gateways. Simultaneously, enterprise security teams are scrambling to patch a newly disclosed Microsoft Outlook zero-day (CVE-2026-124194), which allows threat actors to steal NTLM password hashes simply when a user opens a maliciously crafted message file—potentially enabling full domain takeover.