Security News > 2021 > March > Working Windows and Linux Spectre exploits found on VirusTotal

Working exploits targeting Linux and Windows systems not patched against a three-year-old vulnerability dubbed Spectre were found by security researcher Julien Voisin on VirusTotal.
Voisin found the two working Linux and Windows exploits on the online VirusTotal malware analysis platform.
Unprivileged users can use the exploits to dump LM/NT hashes on Windows systems and the Linux /etc/shadow file from the targeted devices' kernel memory.
The linked exploits were uploaded on VirusTotal last month as part of a larger package, an Immunity Canvas 7.26 installer for Windows and Linux.
The company announced that CANVAS would provide security professionals and penetration testers with access to working Spectre exploits within months after the vulnerability was disclosed.
As Voisin said, the exploits will break if the machine it's executed on runs a patched Linux or Windows version.
News URL
Related news
- PipeMagic Trojan Exploits Windows Zero-Day Vulnerability to Deploy Ransomware (source)
- ⚡ Weekly Recap: Windows 0-Day, VPN Exploits, Weaponized AI, Hijacked Antivirus and More (source)
- Microsoft fixes Linux boot issues on dual-boot Windows systems (source)
- Windows 11 and Red Hat Linux hacked on first day of Pwn2Own (source)
- Microsoft open-sources Windows Subsystem for Linux at Build 2025 (source)
- The Windows Subsystem for Linux goes open source (source)