Microsoft's security team believes more devastating BlueKeep attacks are coming and urges users and companies to install the updates if they haven't already.
The company's warning came after security researchers detected the first malware campaign using the BlueKeep vulnerability.
The attacks, which were detected last weekend, used BlueKeep to break into unpatched Windows systems and install a cryptocurrency miner.
Many security researchers underestimated the attacks and did not consider the campaign using BlueKeep over the past six months as one that could lead to major disasters.
This is because although Microsoft announced that BlueKeep could be used to build worm (self-spreading) malware, the attacks that occurred over the weekend did not indicate a malware that could spread on its own.
The attackers scanned the internet for vulnerable systems and attacked each unpatched system, one at a time, using a BlueKeep exploit, then installing a cryptocurrency miner.
This is of course nothing like the devastating outbreak that Microsoft said BlueKeep could cause. Furthermore, in many cases, the BlueKeep exploit failed to work, but instead crashed systems.
But Microsoft continues to say that this is just the beginning, and that attackers will continue to refine their attacks. The company says that the worst is yet to come.
"While there have been no other confirmed attacks with ransomware or other types of malware to date, the BlueKeep exploit will likely be used to deliver malware more damaging than miners," Microsoft said today
Thus, Microsoft urges users (for the third time this year) to immediately install the updates that are released.
