New Windows Zero-Day Bug Helps Delete Any File, Exploit Available

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bleeping Computer: Proof-of-concept code for a new zero-day vulnerability in Windows has been released by a security researcher before Microsoft was able to release a fix. The code exploits a vulnerability that allows deleting without permission any files on a machine, including system data, and it has the potential to lead to privilege escalation. The vulnerability could be used to delete application DLLs, thus forcing the programs to look for the missing libraries in other places. If the search reaches a location that grants write permission to the local user, the attacker could take advantage by providing a malicious DLL.

The problem is with Microsoft Data Sharing Service, present in Windows 10, Server 2016 and 2019 operating systems, which provides data brokering between applications. Will Dormann, a vulnerability analyst at CERT/CC, tested the exploit code successfully on a Windows 10 operating system running the latest security updates. Behind the discovery is a researcher using the online alias SandboxEscaper, also responsible for publicly sharing in late August another security bug in Windows Task Scheduler component. Microsoft hasn't addressed the issue, but there is a temporary fix available through the oPatch platform. 'A micropatch candidate was ready seven hours after the zero-day vulnerability announcement, and it blocked the exploit successfully,' reports Bleeping Computer. 'oPatch now delivers the stable version of the micropatch for fully updated Windows 10 1803.

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