Microsoft advises users to disable the Windows print spooler or risk being hacked.

 

Microsoft advises users to disable the Windows print spooler or risk being hacked.

This is the third major Windows print flaw discovered in the last five weeks.



Facepalm: Microsoft is once again advising customers to disable Windows print spooler, following the discovery of a new vulnerability that allows hackers to execute malicious code on machines. While a patch to address the flaw will be released soon, the most effective workaround for the time being is to stop and disable the print spooler service entirely.

This is the third flaw in the print spooler discovered in the last five weeks. While a critical flaw was discovered and patched in June, a similar flaw known as PrintNightmare was discovered shortly after and patched as well (with mixed success).

The discovery of this new vulnerability is discouraging news for Microsoft and its customers.

Microsoft has issued an online warning to customers about the new print spooler vulnerability, writing, "An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows Print Spooler service improperly performs privileged file operations." An attacker could then install programs, change or delete data, or create new accounts with full user privileges."

This is extremely important!

If the "Print Spooler" service is enabled (which is the default), any remote authenticated user can execute code on the domain controller as SYSTEM.

Now is the time to stop and disable the service on any DC!


The bottom line for keeping your computer safe is to stop and disable the print spooler service if it's running – Microsoft explains how to do so online. While a patch for this vulnerability will be released in due course, no timetable is currently available.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Microsoft will prioritize the refresh of Win32 apps for Windows 11, Windows 10, and Windows 8.

Image
  Microsoft will prioritize the refresh of Win32 apps for Windows 11, Windows 10, and Windows 8. Microsoft is not currently working on a stable release of WinUI 3 for UWP apps, preferring to focus on once-legacy Win32 apps for Windows 10 and Windows 11. WinUI is a new user interface for Windows 10 and Windows 11 that includes modern controls and styles for Windows apps. Microsoft officials refer to WinUI as the "native UI platform," and it is used in the Windows shell as well as React Native for Windows. WinUI, according to Microsoft, is designed for today's modern hardware and devices, and it supports the most recent Fluent styling. The majority of the modern controls and styles seen in Windows UWP apps are part of the company's WinUI project, which embodies Fluent Design and provides each app with the "modern touch" that users expect. WinUI 2 is WinUI's second generation work, and it is a library of controls and styles for UWP apps. Microsoft is ...
Read more

Which computers are capable of being upgraded to Windows 11?

Image
  Which computers are capable of being upgraded to Windows 11? Is Windows 11 compatible with my computer? Microsoft hasn't made it easy to answer that question, as Windows 11's hardware requirements have been complicated, not least by the requirement for TPMs. Microsoft itself removed the PC Health Check app, which was one of the few ways to determine if your PC was ready for Windows 11. Some PC manufacturers are simply stating whether your PC can be upgraded to Windows 11 or if you must purchase a new one. Links to the major PC manufacturers who have published such lists are provided below. Windows 11-capable Acer PCs Windows 11-capable Asus PCs Dell PCs that are capable of running Windows 11 Windows 11-capable dynabook PCs HP PCs capable of running Windows 11 Windows 11-capable Microsoft PCs MSI PCs capable of running Windows 11 Windows 11-capable Razer PCs Windows 11-capable Samsung PCs As additional context, some have included FAQs or explanations of...
Read more

Update your Windows PC to address the serious Print Nightmare security vulnerability.

Image
  Update your Windows PC to address the serious Print Nightmare security vulnerability. You may have heard of "PrintNightmare," a vulnerability in the Windows Print Spool service that, under some circumstances, may allow hackers to take control of your computer. After expressing alarm about the problem last week, Microsoft has now formally released a patch that fixes the problem, urging all Windows users to apply it as soon as possible. We'll skip the technical details of the patch, but it's rather simple to set up. However, not everyone may be aware of how to obtain the patch today in order to keep your PC safe when using the Windows Print Spool service to deliver documents from your PC to your printer. With a brief instruction on how to cure the PrintNightmare issue on Windows 10 right now, we've got you covered. As it turns out, several researchers have already identified some more issues with Microsoft's rapid fix, so you'll probably want to inst...
Read more