Exploit For Wormable BlueKeep Windows Bug Released Into the Wild (arstechnica.com) 24
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: For months, security practitioners have worried about the public release of attack code exploiting BlueKeep, the critical vulnerability in older versions of Microsoft Windows that's "wormable," meaning it can spread from computer to computer the way the WannaCry worm did two years ago. On Friday, that dreaded day arrived when the Metasploit framework -- an open source tool used by white hat and black hat hackers alike -- released just such an exploit into the wild. The module, which was published as a work in progress on Github, doesn't yet have the polish and reliability of the EternalBlue exploit that was developed by the NSA and later used in WannaCry. For instance, if the people using the new module specify the wrong version of Windows they want to attack, they'll likely wind up with a blue-screen crash. Getting the exploit to work on server machines also requires a change to default settings in the form of a registry modification that turns on audio sharing.
The latest flaw, which is indexed as CVE-2019-0708 but is better known by the name BlueKeep, resides in earlier versions of the Remote Desktop Services, which help provide a graphical interface for connecting to Windows computers over the Internet. It affects Windows 2003 and XP, Vista 7, Server 2008 R2, and Server 2008. When Microsoft patched the vulnerability in May, it warned that computers that failed to install the fix could suffer a similar fate if reliable attack code ever becomes available. The reason: like the flaw that EternalBlue exploited, BlueKeep allowed for self-replicating attacks. Like a falling line of dominoes, a single exploit could spread from vulnerable machine to vulnerable machine with no interaction required of end users. "The release of this exploit is a big deal because it will put a reliable exploit in the hands of both security professionals and malicious actors," Ryan Hanson, principal research consultant at Atredis Partners and a developer who helped work on the release, told Ars. "I'm hoping the exploit will be primarily used by offensive teams to demonstrate the importance of security patches, but we will likely see criminal groups modifying it to deliver ransomware as well."
The latest flaw, which is indexed as CVE-2019-0708 but is better known by the name BlueKeep, resides in earlier versions of the Remote Desktop Services, which help provide a graphical interface for connecting to Windows computers over the Internet. It affects Windows 2003 and XP, Vista 7, Server 2008 R2, and Server 2008. When Microsoft patched the vulnerability in May, it warned that computers that failed to install the fix could suffer a similar fate if reliable attack code ever becomes available. The reason: like the flaw that EternalBlue exploited, BlueKeep allowed for self-replicating attacks. Like a falling line of dominoes, a single exploit could spread from vulnerable machine to vulnerable machine with no interaction required of end users. "The release of this exploit is a big deal because it will put a reliable exploit in the hands of both security professionals and malicious actors," Ryan Hanson, principal research consultant at Atredis Partners and a developer who helped work on the release, told Ars. "I'm hoping the exploit will be primarily used by offensive teams to demonstrate the importance of security patches, but we will likely see criminal groups modifying it to deliver ransomware as well."
Hosting the enemy (Score:3, Funny)
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To my employer,
Once all the damage is done, the IT folk who managed to keep shit patched will be worth a lot more. Fuck you, pay me!
To his employer:
In case your IT guy hasn't told you that old ass fucking software is about to be at the end of it's life-cycle.
If he didn't recommend you to upgrade to newer versions 2 years ago , he should be fired.
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To my employer,
Once all the damage is done, the IT folk who managed to keep shit patched will be worth a lot more. Fuck you, pay me!
To his employer:
In case your IT guy hasn't told you that old ass fucking software is about to be at the end of it's life-cycle.
If he didn't recommend you to upgrade to newer versions 2 years ago , he should be fired.
To his direct boss:
As you know, when firing IT guys it's important to do it by surprise, seizing both their laptops and mail accounts and making sure that the contents are destroyed "for security reasons" whilst the employee is still alone with HR in the exit interview. This will ensure that the mail trail of repeated warnings and requests to be allowed to invest in updates will never come and trouble you or damage your career. You will probably need to fire several people at once; remember that sendin
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Which is why it is imperative to keep you own audit trail independent of the company in order to prevent such acts by the employer.
FFS ... ! (Score:2)
Only complete morons turn on Remote Desktop Services - especially on machines running obsolete versions of Windows that haven't been officially supported for half a decade ...
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Only complete morons turn on Remote Desktop Services - especially on machines running obsolete versions of Windows that haven't been officially supported for half a decade ...
Nonsense. I'm posting this from my remote Vista desktop right now.
I'm not going to log in to this stupid site directly from my employer's system (too embarrassing), and there's no way I'm going to "upgrade" my own Windows system just so M$ can siphon off all my data with their so-called "telemet$@ #?~~ <NUL>
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That is because someone paid Microsoft to include these backdoors in Windows. Microsoft is a US company. Who in the US is the biggest proponent of "backdoors everywhere" to prevent "going dark"? Simply follow the money.
Windows is crap (Score:1)
And it is crap after they had decades to do better. It is an utter disgrace.
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When Linux hit's Windows usage stats it will be hit just as hard and all sorts of vulnerabilities will be found.
But when it only has 18% it's not going to get much attention, sorry. Maybe if you made it more user friendly more people would use it.
MS might suck balls but they have spent a lot of time and effort and money on making a user friendly operating system.
Until you Linux zealots realize this Linux will be relegated to niche uses, like running the interne
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So your only argument boils down to "one specific competitor is not better". Are you mentally challenged?
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I must be, because I can't make any sense of your statement.
To clarify, Windows is targeted aggressively due to it's large footprint and therefore large return on investment.
Sure Linux is more secure, for now. But when Linux is actually used more it will be targeted more aggressively.
I personally think it will stand up better than Windows as far as security is concerned, but I think a lot of people
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People playing games?
One computer, one user, one game, one ethernet connection to the internet?
Re "find security holes"
Yet other OS dont seem to fail and fail again every decade?
Due to design? Staff skill?
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Erm, the user?
Yes, because a lot of people play games.
I feel like I am beating a dead horse. Windows gets targeted year after year because it has the highest market share year after year.
Is it a design failure? Is it a skill failure? Why not muck in and get a job at Microsoft and sort out all their design and skill problems.
What! Microsoft don't want t
Re: Windows is crap (Score:2)
Slowly they will end up with Unix from 80s with office. Just a waste, stick with Debian and libre office.
Use Windows (Score:1)
Stay for the new CPU and powerful GPU support.
Need security? Get a real OS.
Re: Use Windows (Score:2)
Why? The sort of games I play are in-browser to pass 5mins whilst the kids argue.
The patch had to be rolled back at our place (Score:2)
For some reason, this patch introduces a bug on VBA. And one of our applications crashed because of it. So we had to have it rolled back, because a whole lot of users were impacted.
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So, you have not patched your systems for how many years now?
Patch stuff people (Score:1)
Maybe there should be a emphasis on getting systems patched, especially old systems.
The patch was released in May - you don't patch for major vulnerabilities, you will see your data go bye-bye. Why are businesses so stupid?