ShieldBreak Windows Defender Zero-Day Bypasses Microsoft Patch to Gain SYSTEM Access

The prolific and controversial security researcher known as Nightmare-Eclipse, also tracked as Chaotic Eclipse, has released ShieldBreak, a new Windows zero-day exploit that reportedly bypasses Microsoft’s patch for the RoguePlanet privilege-escalation flaw. The release marks the ninth exploit in the researcher’s 2026 series, and places renewed scrutiny on the resilience of Windows Defender’s core protection components. Rather than introducing an unrelated bug class,…