Security News
Microsoft has shared a workaround for a Windows 10 zero-day vulnerability that can let attackers gain admin rights on vulnerable systems and execute arbitrary code with SYSTEM privileges. "An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists because of overly permissive Access Control Lists on multiple system files, including the Security Accounts Manager database," Microsoft explains in a security advisory published on Tuesday evening.
Windows 10 and Windows 11 are vulnerable to a local elevation of privilege vulnerability after discovering that users with low privileges can access sensitive Registry database files. The database files associated with the Windows Registry are stored under the C:Windowssystem32config folder and are broken up into different files such as SYSTEM, SECURITY, SAM, DEFAULT, and SOFTWARE. As these files contain sensitive information about all user accounts on a device and security tokens used by Windows features, they should be restricted from being viewed by regular users with no elevated privileges.
Many of the hardware and software security features Microsoft lists as absolute requirements for a successful Windows 11 installation are already available as options in Windows 10. In some cases, getting these more advanced levels of security is just a matter of turning them on, particularly on newer PCs. One of the more powerful of these security features is the Hypervisor-Protected Code Integrity protocol.
Microsoft released the first preview build of Windows 10 21H2 this week, but it is not being offered to everyone at this time. On Thursday, Microsoft released the first Windows 10 21H2 preview build.
Microsoft will continue to release Windows 10 feature updates, such as Windows 10 21H2, through October 2025 to allow businesses and consumers time to switch to Windows 11. As most of the development for new features is going into Windows 11, Microsoft will be releasing limited features for Windows 10 going forward.
Microsoft will continue to release Windows 10 feature updates, such as Windows 10 21H2, through October 2025 to allow businesses and consumers time to switch to Windows 11. As most of the development for new features is going into Windows 11, Microsoft will be releasing limited features for Windows 10 going forward.
Microsoft has addressed the Windows 10 printing issues caused by changes introduced in the June 2021 cumulative update preview with an update issued during this month's Patch Tuesday. To resolve the printing issues, Microsoft released an emergency fix for Windows 10 2004, Windows 10 20H2, and Windows 10 21H1 on July 9, rolling it out via the Known Issue Rollback feature.
As part of the July 2021 Patch Tuesday, Microsoft has released new KB5004237 and KB5004245 cumulative updates for recent versions of Windows. Today's cumulative updates include security fixes for PCs with May 2021 Update, October 2020 Update, and May 2020 Update.
Microsoft removed a registry hack in the latest preview build that allowed Windows 11 users to revert to the "Classic" Windows 10 Start Menu. When the Windows 11 preview build was leaked in June, one of the most significant and most controversial changes was a new floating Start Menu centered in the middle of the Taskbar.
Microsoft removed a registry hack in the latest preview build that allowed Windows 11 users to revert to the "Classic" Windows 10 Start Menu. When the Windows 11 preview build was leaked in June, one of the most significant and most controversial changes was a new floating Start Menu centered in the middle of the Taskbar.