microsoft
Microsoft August 2024 Patch Tuesday fixes 9 zero-days, 6 exploited
Today is Microsoft’s August 2024 Patch Tuesday, which includes security updates for 89 flaws, including six actively exploited and three publicly disclosed zero-days. Microsoft is still working on an update for a tenth publicly disclosed zero-day. This Patch Tuesday fixed eight critical vulnerabilities, which were a mixture of elevation of privileges, remote code execution, and […]
New Windows SmartScreen bypass exploited as zero-day since March
Today, Microsoft revealed that a Mark of the Web security bypass vulnerability exploited by attackers as a zero-day to bypass SmartScreen protection was patched during the June 2024 Patch Tuesday. SmartScreen is a security feature introduced with Windows 8 that protects users against potentially malicious software when opening downloaded files tagged with a Mark of […]
Microsoft is killing the Windows Paint 3D app after 8 years
Microsoft announced that the Paint 3D graphics app will be discontinued later this year and removed from the Microsoft Store in November. The 3D graphics program was first unveiled as a replacement for the Paint application eight years ago, in November 2016, with the release of Windows 10 Insider Build 14971. The company advises users to switch to […]
Microsoft discloses unpatched Office flaw that exposes NTLM hashes
Microsoft has disclosed a high-severity vulnerability affecting Office 2016 that could expose NTLM hashes to a remote attacker. Tracked as CVE-2024-38200, this security flaw is caused by an information disclosure weakness that enables unauthorized actors to access protected information. It impacts multiple 32-bit and 64-bit Office versions, including Office 2016, Office 2019, Office LTSC 2021, and […]
Microsoft 365 anti-phishing feature can be bypassed with CSS
Researchers have demonstrated a method to bypass an anti-phishing measure in Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365), elevating the risk of users opening malicious emails. Specifically, the anti-phishing measure that can be hidden is the ‘First Contact Safety Tip,’ which warns email recipients on Outlook when they receive a message from an unfamiliar address. Certitude analysts who discovered […]
Microsoft Azure outage takes down services across North America
Microsoft has mitigated an Azure outage that lasted more than two hours and took down multiple services for customers across North and Latin America. The company says the incident started around 18:22 UTC and impacted services that leverage Azure Front Door (AFD), its modern cloud Content Delivery Network (CDN). “This issue is impacting multiple geographies, […]
Windows Smart App Control, SmartScreen bypass exploited since 2018
A design flaw in Windows Smart App Control and SmartScreen that enables attackers to launch programs without triggering security warnings has been under exploitation since at least 2018. Smart App Control is a reputation-based security feature that uses Microsoft’s app intelligence services for safety predictions and Windows’ code integrity features to identify and block untrusted (unsigned) […]
Microsoft says massive Azure outage was caused by DDoS attack
Microsoft confirmed today that a nine-hour outage on Tuesday, which took down and disrupted multiple Microsoft 365 and Azure services worldwide, was triggered by a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. Redmond says the outage impacted Microsoft Entra, some Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Purview services (including Intune, Power BI, and Power Platform), as well as Azure App […]
New Specula tool uses Outlook for remote code execution in Windows
Microsoft Outlook can be turned into a C2 beacon to remotely execute code, as demonstrated by a new red team post-exploitation framework named “Specula,” released today by cybersecurity firm TrustedSec. This C2 framework works by creating a custom Outlook Home Page using WebView by exploiting CVE-2017-11774, an Outlook security feature bypass vulnerability patched in October 2017. “In […]
Windows 11 taskbar has a hidden “End Task” feature, how to turn it on
Microsoft has added a feature to Windows 11 that allows you to end tasks directly from the taskbar, but it’s turned off by default. How It Works When the “End Task” feature is enabled, you can right-click on an app icon in the taskbar and see an “End Task” option. When you select this option, […]