Introduction: When Protection Becomes the Entry Point Microsoft Defender has long been considered a reliable first line of defense for millions of systems worldwide. But a disturbing wave of exploits is flipping that trust upside down. Instead of blocking attackers, Defender is now being manipulated into doing their work. What makes this situation especially alarming is not just the technical sophistication, but how easily publicly available proof-of-concept exploits are being used in real-world attacks.