PrintNightmare Vulnerability that affects Windows

The problem with the current IT infrastructures that we have in the world is that nobody knows for sure how many errors and critical security flaws are yet to be discovered, which gives hackers a huge advantage when it comes to acting and that is why we will now see a threat which was alerted by Microsoft, in fact they released an emergency update to correct this vulnerability in the Windows Print Spooler service that is being actively exploited. Dubbed PrintNightmare, the zero-day vulnerability affects all versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system from Windows 7 onwards.

This vulnerability was named as CVE-2021-34527 (PrintNightmare) and it is a remote code execution, this was classified as high severity and received a score of 8.2 out of 10 on a fairly high scale, the truth is that it is so serious that Microsoft decided issue an out-of-band patch, instead of waiting for the release of its usual update package that takes place on the second Tuesday of each month, better known as Patch Tuesday.

The remote code execution vulnerability exists when the Windows Print Spooler service improperly performs operations with privileged files. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could execute arbitrary code with SISTEMA privileges. In this way, an attacker could install programs; view, change or delete data; or create new accounts with all user permissions.

Unfortunately, some researchers were quick to notice that the patch did not completely fix the vulnerability. In fact, the Redmond tech giant also noted that under certain circumstances, systems will remain vulnerable, allowing a remote attacker to “execute arbitrary code with SYSTEM privileges.” This measure is a simple band-aid until Microsoft takes over the situation and chooses to publish a patch that completely closes any possibility of exploiting that hole in the future. That is why we must be attentive to the communications they release and protect ourselves as best we can against this vulnerability.

Check also:
EternalRomance, a very dangerous vulnerability
KRACK vulnerability that affected Apple
New vulnerability that Ubuntu is facing

---