Windows users must patch now after active zero-day attacks revealed by Google • Graham Cluley



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Yesterday was the second Tuesday of the month, which meant – you guessed it! – it was time for Microsoft to release its latest set of security fixes.

On this occasion, Microsoft fixed more than 100 security vulnerabilities in a wide variety of its products, some of which could allow critical remote code execution attacks if left unchecked.

But the update that will probably get the most attention is CVE-2020-17087, a zero-day vulnerability that has been exploited in active attacks against users of Windows 7 and Windows 10.

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The vulnerability, which allows elevation of local privilege and sandbox evasion, was made public by Google’s Project Zero team late last month.

It was just seven days after Microsoft was notified of the security breach, as security researchers said it was being exploited – in coordination with a Google Chrome flaw (itself patched on October 20) – by cybercriminals in targeted attacks.

Personally, I am impressed to see Microsoft fix the vulnerability and spread it so quickly to its millions of users just days after discovering the vulnerability.

If you are running Windows on a computer for which you are responsible and want to ensure that your security patches are installed, select “Start”, then go to Settings > Update and security > Windows Update.

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Graham Cluley is an antivirus industry veteran having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the very first version of Dr. Solomon’s Antivirus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent security analyst, he makes regular media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of computer security, hackers and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter at @gcluley, or send him an e-mail.



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