Microsoft Support & Discussions

On Monday May 30, 2022, Microsoft issued CVE-2022-30190 regarding the Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool (MSDT) in Windows vulnerability. A remote code execution vulnerability exists when MSDT is called using the URL protocol from a calling application such as Word. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability can run arbitrary code with the privileges of the … Guidance for CVE-2022-30190 Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool Vulnerability Read More » Continue reading...

Microsoft uncovered high-severity vulnerabilities in a mobile framework owned by mce Systems and used by multiple large mobile service providers in pre-installed Android System apps that potentially exposed users to remote (albeit complex) or local attacks. The vulnerabilities, which affected apps with millions of downloads, have been fixed by all involved parties. Coupled with the extensive system privileges that pre-installed apps have, these vulnerabilities could have been attack vectors for attackers to access system configuration and sensitive information. As it is with many of pre-installed or default applications that most Android devices come with these days, s…

The privacy-focused DuckDuckGo browser purposely allows Microsoft trackers on third-party sites due to an agreement in their syndicated search content contract between the two companies. DuckDuckGo is a search engine that prides itself on its privacy by not tracking your searches or your behavior while performing searches. Furthermore, instead of building user profiles to display interest-based advertisements, DuckDuckGo will use contextual advertisements from partners, like Ads by Microsoft. While DuckDuckGo does not store any personal identifiers with your search queries, Microsoft advertising may track your IP address and other information when clicking on an ad …

On April 24, 2022, a privilege escalation hacking tool, KrbRelayUp, was publicly disclosed on GitHub by security researcher Mor Davidovich. KrbRelayUp is a wrapper that can streamline the use of some features in Rubeus, KrbRelay, SCMUACBypass, PowerMad/SharpMad, Whisker, and ADCSPwn tools in attacks. Although this attack won’t function for Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) joined devices, hybrid joined devices with on-premises domain controllers remain vulnerable. Microsoft Defender for Identity detects activity from the early stages of the attack chain by monitoring anomalous behavior as seen by the domain controller. In addition, signals from Defender for Identity al…

In 2020, MSRC awarded two Identity Project Research Grants to support external researchers working to further strengthen the security of identity protocols and systems. Today we are pleased to release the results of the first of these projects. This research, led by independent security researcher Avinash Sudhodanan, investigated account pre-hijacking – a new class of … New Research Paper: Pre-hijacking Attacks on Web User Accounts Read More » Continue reading...

Amplification attacks are one of the most common distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack vectors. These attacks are typically categorized as flooding or volumetric attacks, where the attacker succeeds in generating more traffic than the target can process, resulting in exhausting its resources due to the amount of traffic it receives. In this blog, we start by surveying the anatomy and landscape of amplification attacks, while providing statistics from Azure on most common attack vectors, volumes, and distribution. We then describe some of the countermeasures taken in Azure to mitigate amplification attacks. DDoS amplification attacks, what are they? Ref…

What’s risk management and why is it important? Risk management, the process of developing a strategy for addressing risk throughout its lifecycle, normally involves four phases: risk identification, assessment, response, and monitoring and reporting. Risk management plays a critical role in helping organizations with their security posture enhancement. Taking insider incidents as an example, they are not only costly to organizations but also time-consuming to be contained. Given the limited resources available, we have seen many organizations often prioritize investment in security controls, which can address the more critical risks. As such, the return on in…

“The bug bounty literally changed my life. Before this, I had nothing.” Coolest thing he purchased: His first vehicle! Best gift to give: Buying his nephew gaming accessories. Favorite Hacking Companion: His two cats. They’re always by his side when he is working late. Origin of his Hacker name: The word dog in Spanish is … Researcher Spotlight: Hector Peralta’s Evolution from Popcorn Server to the MSRC Leaderboards Read More » Continue reading...

Data is the lifeblood of any organization. Whether you’re a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) or aspiring to become one, protecting sensitive business data will be your main priority. But the job isn’t getting any easier. In 2021, the number of data breaches climbed 68 percent to 1,862, costing an average of USD4.24 million each.1 The damage from a breach touches everyone, causing diminished brand equity and consumer trust, decreased shareholder confidence, failed audits, and increased scrutiny from regulatory agencies. It’s easy to become so preoccupied with protecting against the next ransomware attack that you overlook risks within your own organization. Ins…

Microsoft and Citrix have worked together for decades, delivering technology solutions that help IT support their businesses. Over time, Microsoft and Citrix solutions have evolved together to enable an efficient, high-performing, work-from-anywhere model to meet the needs of an increasingly distributed workforce. Expanding that historical relationship, we are excited to announce today that a new value-add solution is in development that integrates Citrix high-definition user experience (HDX) technology with Windows 365. This integration will empower a new generation of Windows 365 and Citrix users to access their persistent, cloud-hosted Windows 11 or Windows 10 deskt…

This blog post is part of the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association guest blog series. Learn more about MISA. The acceleration of cloud journeys fueled by the pandemic and ever-increasing concerns about data security and information privacy have made access management one of the hottest topics in application security and Zero Trust architecture discussions. Over the last several years, the industry has made tremendous progress on identity and access management, and Microsoft Azure Active Directory (Azure AD), with its focus on Zero Trust comprehensive cloud-based identity services, is a perfect example of this. Achieving a secure environment is top of mind for …

The steep rise in cryptocurrency market capitalization, not surprisingly, mirrors a marked increase in threats and attacks that target or leverage cryptocurrencies. But Microsoft researchers are observing an even more interesting trend: the evolution of related malware and their techniques, and the emergence of a threat type we’re referring to as cryware. Cryware are information stealers that collect and exfiltrate data directly from non-custodial cryptocurrency wallets, also known as hot wallets. Because hot wallets, unlike custodial wallets, are stored locally on a device and provide easier access to cryptographic keys needed to perform transactions, more and more th…

The Microsoft Security Response Center is part of the defender community and on the front line of security response for our customers and the company. Our mission is to protect customers and Microsoft from current and emerging threats related to security and privacy. We monitor threats and provide updated tools and guidance to help organizations … Anatomy of a Security Update Read More » Continue reading...

The MITRE Center for Threat-Informed Defense, Microsoft, and other industry partners collaborated on a project that created a repeatable methodology for developing a top MITRE ATT&CK® techniques list. The method aims to facilitate navigation of the ATT&CK framework, which could help new defenders focus on critical techniques relevant to their organization’s environment, and aid experienced defenders in prioritizing ATT&CK techniques according to their organization’s needs. The ATT&CK framework provides an extensive list of specific techniques that may be challenging to navigate in certain situations. This project aims to help defenders who use the frame…

Who is CRSP? The Microsoft Compromise Recovery Security Practice (CRSP) is a worldwide team of cybersecurity experts operating in most countries, across both public and private organizations, with deep expertise to secure an environment post-security breach and to help you prevent a breach in the first place. As a specialist team within the wider Microsoft cybersecurity functions, we predominantly focus on reactive security projects for our customers. The main types of projects we undertake are: Compromise recovery: Giving customers back control of their environment after a compromise. Rapid ransomware recovery: Restore business-critical applications and limit r…

Summary Microsoft recently mitigated a vulnerability in Azure Data Factory and Azure Synapse pipelines. The vulnerability was specific to the third-party Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) driver used to connect to Amazon Redshift in Azure Synapse pipelines and Azure Data Factory Integration Runtime (IR) and did not impact Azure Synapse as a whole. The vulnerability could … Vulnerability mitigated in the third-party Data Connector used in Azure Synapse pipelines and Azure Data Factory (CVE-2022-29972) Read More » Continue reading...

Microsoft processes 24 trillion signals every 24 hours, and we have blocked billions of attacks in the last year alone. Microsoft Security tracks more than 35 unique ransomware families and 250 unique threat actors across observed nation-state, ransomware, and criminal activities. That depth of signal intelligence gathered from various domains—identity, email, data, and cloud—provides us with insight into the gig economy that attackers have created with tools designed to lower the barrier for entry for other attackers, who in turn continue to pay dividends and fund operations through the sale and associated “cut” from their tool’s success. The cybercriminal economy …