Are you using a Windows laptop? Read more. The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued a warning to Windows users. The agency noted a security vulnerability in some versions of Microsoft Windows that could affect Windows Defender, a tool that protects Windows from malware, viruses, and more.
What does the warning say?
The vulnerability is marked as “high” in the severity rating and may allow hackers to gain access to the victim’s computer bypassing security restrictions. According to the agency, the vulnerability exists due to a flaw in the Windows Defender Credential Guard component.
In its alert, CERT-In says that “Windows Defender Credential Guard has reported elevation of privilege and security bypass vulnerabilities that could allow an authenticated attacker to bypass security restrictions and gain elevated privileges on the target system.”
What versions of Windows are affected?
According to CERT-In, the list of affected versions includes
– Windows 11 for ARM64 based systems.
– Windows 11 for x64 based systems
– Windows 10 version 1607 for 64-bit systems.
– Windows 10 version 1607 for 32-bit systems.
– Windows 10 for x64 based systems
– Windows 10 for 32-bit systems.
– Windows 10 version 21H2 for x64-based systems.
– Windows 10 version 21H2 for ARM64 based systems.
– Windows 10 version 21H2 for 32-bit systems.
– Windows 10 version 20H2 for ARM64 based systems.
– Windows 10 version 20H2 for 32-bit systems.
– Windows 10 version 20H2 for x64-based systems.
– Windows 10 version 21H1 for 32-bit systems.
– Windows 10 version 21H1 for ARM64 based systems.
– Windows 10 version 21H1 for x64-based systems.
– Windows 10 version 1809 for ARM64-based systems.
– Windows 10 version 1809 for 64-bit systems.
– Windows 10 version 1809 for 32-bit systems.
– Windows Server 2022 (Server Core installation)
– Windows Server 2022
– Windows Server 2019 (Server Core installation)
– Windows Server 2019
– Windows Server 2016 (Server Core installation)
– Windows Server 2016
– Windows Server version 20H2 (Server Core installation)
The CERT-In advisory advises users to install the appropriate Windows Defender patch mentioned in the Microsoft security bulletin.
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