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Cybersecurity

Admin Account Backdoor: Critical Privilege-Flaw in WordPress User Registration Plugin (CVE-2026-1492)

A critical security flaw in a widely used WordPress membership plugin has made it trivially simple for unauthenticated attackers to create administrator accounts and seize control of affected sites. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-1492, exposes a systemic weakness in how the plugin handled role assignment during user registration. This post summarizes what happened, who discovered it, the immediate risks, and the concrete steps site owners should take now. What the…

Saugata DattaMar 6, 20263 min read827

Hacking and Exploits

Bitwarden Adds Passkey Login Support for Windows 11

Bitwarden now supports using passkeys stored in its vault to sign into Windows 11 devices, enabling passwordless, phishing-resistant authentication. The feature is available to all Bitwarden plans, including the free tier. How it works On the Windows sign-in screen, users choose the security key sign-in option and scan a QR code with a mobile device. The passkey stored in the user’s Bitwarden encrypted vault responds to the cryptographic authentication challenge…

Saugata DattaMar 5, 20262 min read810

Microsoft

When an Upgrade Breaks the Network: Windows 11 23H2→25H2 and the 802.1X Policy Wipe

A quietly persistent bug in in-place Windows upgrades has resurfaced across recent Windows 11 version jumps and is creating a painful, real-world problem for enterprise IT teams: wired 802.1X authentication profiles applied by Group Policy are being deleted during some upgrades, leaving machines offline until a manual recovery is performed. What looks like a routine OS update can turn into a multi-device outage unless administrators prepare ahead. This article explains…

Saugata DattaMar 4, 20264 min read639

Artificial Intelligence

When Kali Meets Claude: How AI and MCP Are Changing Penetration Testing

The tools and workflows of penetration testing have evolved steadily over the past decade, but a recent shift feels more like a paradigm change than an incremental upgrade. Kali Linux — the distribution many security professionals rely on for reconnaissance, scanning, and exploitation — has been connected to a large language model via the open Model Context Protocol (MCP). The result is a conversational, AI-assisted penetration testing workflow that translates…

Saugata DattaFeb 26, 20265 min read612

Cybersecurity

SYSTEM at Risk: How a Splunk DLL Search-Order Flaw Lets Local Users Escalate Privileges

Splunk is a cornerstone of many security and operations teams, trusted to ingest, index, and analyze machine data across the enterprise. That trust makes any vulnerability in Splunk especially consequential. In February 2026 Splunk disclosed a high-severity Windows-specific vulnerability (CVE-2026-20140) that allows a low-privileged local user to perform a DLL search-order hijacking attack and gain SYSTEM-level privileges. The mechanics are deceptively simple, the impact profound, and the remedy—while available—demands swift…

Saugata DattaFeb 20, 20265 min read671

Artificial Intelligence

Guardian of the Red Team: How Guardian Orchestrates Gemini, GPT-4 and 19 Top Security Tools for Smarter Pentesting

Guardian is an open-source, AI-driven penetration testing framework that leverages multiple large language models to automate intelligent, evidence-backed security assessments. Designed for enterprise use, it combines a multi-agent architecture with a broad toolset to accelerate reconnaissance, triage, and reporting while preserving human oversight. What is Guardian? Guardian is an AI-powered penetration testing automation framework developed by Zakir Kun and available on GitHub. It orchestrates models such as OpenAI GPT-4, Anthropic…

Saugata DattaFeb 19, 20264 min read812

Microsoft

Windows 11 KB5077181 Update Triggers Restart Loop on Some Devices — What You Need to Know

Microsoft’s February 10, 2026 security update KB5077181 for Windows 11 (notably reported on affected 24H2 builds) has been linked to a troubling issue on a subset of systems: devices repeatedly restarting in an infinite loop after applying the patch. If your PC is caught in this cycle, or you manage endpoints in an organization and are seeing similar behavior, here’s a concise guide to what’s happening, who’s affected, and practical…

Saugata DattaFeb 16, 20264 min read670

AI Agents and Frameworks

Claude Cowork finally lands on Windows

Anthropic’s Claude Cowork has arrived on Windows, closing a major platform gap and bringing its AI-powered desktop agent to a much larger share of enterprise users. The Windows release delivers local file access, multi-step automation, plugin integrations, and Model Context Protocol connectors, matching the macOS version and positioning Cowork as a mainstream productivity agent for knowledge work. What Cowork brings to the desktop Claude Cowork is designed to move beyond…

Saugata DattaFeb 13, 20264 min read946

Cybersecurity

Microsoft Adds Native System Monitor (Sysmon) Support to Windows 11

Microsoft has begun shipping System Monitor (Sysmon) as a native, opt-in capability in Windows 11 preview builds. This change moves a widely used, high-fidelity endpoint telemetry tool from an optional Sysinternals download to an OS-managed feature. For security teams, IT operations, and incident responders, native Sysmon promises simpler deployment, stronger integration with Windows management channels, and a more consistent telemetry baseline across managed fleets — provided organizations adopt it carefully…

Saugata DattaFeb 6, 20266 min read829

Artificial Intelligence

Introducing Claude Opus 4.6

Claude Opus 4.6 is Anthropic’s latest Opus-class model, released February 5, 2026. It focuses on sustained, agentic intelligence for real knowledge work: improved planning and multi-step execution, stronger code review and debugging across large repositories, and a first-in-class Opus‑variant with a 1M‑token context window in beta. Anthropic pairs these capabilities with new API controls—effort, adaptive thinking, and context compaction—plus product integrations that extend the model into everyday work tools. The…

Saugata DattaFeb 6, 20266 min read888

Linux

Understanding GPO Inheritance and Blocking: Troubleshooting in Windows Domain Environments

Group Policy Objects (GPOs) are the backbone of centralized management in Windows domain environments. From enforcing password complexity to deploying software, GPOs shape the configuration and security of every computer within an organization. While the concept of GPO inheritance promises simplicity—policies defined high up in the Active Directory (AD) hierarchy flow down to all subordinate units—the reality encountered by administrators can quickly grow complex and bewildering. Recognizing how inheritance works…

Saugata DattaJan 20, 20263 min read816

Automation

How to Automate GPO Tasks in Active Directory: PowerShell Techniques with Practical Examples

Automating Group Policy Object (GPO) tasks in Active Directory is critical for large organizations and IT administrators managing a high volume of policies. PowerShell provides enterprise-grade automation capabilities to create, modify, and deploy GPOs efficiently, reducing manual effort and minimizing errors. This guide dives deep into automating GPO management with PowerShell, showing step-by-step scripting techniques for both user and computer GPOs—all with hands-on examples. Automating GPO Creation at Scale Manually…

Saugata DattaJan 16, 20265 min read989

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