As part of its February 2024 Patch Tuesday updates, Microsoft has published patches to address 73 security flaws, including two zero-day vulnerabilities that have been actively exploited.
Five of the 73 vulnerabilities are classified as ‘Critical’, 65 as ‘Important’, and three as ‘Moderate’ in severity.
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Two Zero-Days Patched
The two vulnerabilities identified as being actively targeted are:
- CVE-2024-21351 – Windows SmartScreen Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability
- CVE-2024-21412 – Internet Shortcut Files Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability
CVE-2024-21351 – Windows SmartScreen Security Bypass
The vulnerability, which has a CVSS score of 7.6, enables an attacker to insert code into SmartScreen and perhaps acquire code execution. This could result in some data disclosure, a lack of system availability, or both.
“An authorized attacker must send the user a malicious file and convince the user to open it,” Microsoft said.
Thus, if this vulnerability was successfully exploited, an attacker could bypass the SmartScreen user experience.
Microsoft does not disclose the widespread of these attacks, although it is anticipated that the number of exploits will rise.
CVE-2024-21412 – Internet Shortcut Files Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability
“An unauthenticated attacker could send the targeted user a specially crafted file that is designed to bypass displayed security checks,” Microsoft.
In this case, it would be impossible for the attacker to convince a user to see content that they controlled. In addition, by clicking on the file link, the attacker would have convinced them to take action.
As a result, the attacker must convince the victim to open a malicious file that they sent them.
According to a Trend Micro report, the Water Hydra APT is using the vulnerability to infect victims with the malware DarkMe.
After developing a proof-of-concept (PoC) for additional testing, the researchers found that the original shortcut bypassed the CVE-2023-36025 patch while evading SmartScreen security measures.
Critical Security Flaws Addressed
Five critical vulnerabilities, including those involving privilege elevation (CVE-2024-21410), denial of service (CVE-2024-20684), remote code execution (CVE-2024-21357, CVE-2024-21413), and information disclosure (CVE-2024-21380) are fixed in this Patch Tuesday.
Other vendors, in addition to Microsoft, have also provided security upgrades in recent weeks to address multiple vulnerabilities. These firms include Google, Adobe, Cisco, ExpressVPN, Ivanti, Fortinet, Linux, SAP and JetBrains.
The complete list of the 73 Microsoft CVEs may be found here.
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