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Bug In Windows Kernel Could Prevent Security Software From Identifying Malware (bleepingcomputer.com)
An anonymous reader writes: "Malware developers can abuse a programming error in the Windows kernel to prevent security software from identifying if, and when, malicious modules have been loaded at runtime," reports Bleeping Computer. "The bug affects PsSetLoadImageNotifyRoutine, one of the low-level mechanisms some security solutions use to identify when code has been loaded into the kernel or user space. The problem is that an attacker can exploit this bug in a way that PsSetLoadImageNotifyRoutine returns an invalid module name, allowing an attacker to disguise malware as a legitimate operation. The issue came to light earlier this year when enSilo researchers were analyzing the Windows kernel code. Omri Misgav, Security Researcher at enSilo and the one who discovered the issue, says the bug affects all Windows versions released since Windows 2000. Misgav's tests showed that the programming error has survived up to the most recent Windows 10 releases." In an interview, the researcher said Microsoft did not consider this a security issue. Bug technical details are available here.
It is the malware.
"the researcher said Microsoft did not consider this a security issue." probably because it's not a security issue. This particular notification is only useful AFTER you have already been screwed over by malware which means the breach has already happened, at that point all bets are off regardless of this bug. still needs fixing but hardly a urgent matter.
Microsoft has never bothered to fix anything to do with Unicode search, either. Try this out at home, kids:
It's been this way since Microsoft introduced UCS-2 in Windows NT4 and UTF-16 in Windows 2000. They don't consider it a bug so they won't acknowledge it requires a fix.
If only there was some way that programs from around the globe could review the kernel of an operating system. No wait, we could expand it to all software and make it some sort of hub for getting software. Oh well, I guess it's one of those impossible things that will never happen. ;)
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
Where did you acquire this information? It's clearly not from experience because you lack balls to suck.
lol, thanks for giving me all of your lunch money, justin
Someting that doesn't allow third party anti virus software to detect malware is a feature.
That doesn't sound true at all. I'd even wager a finsky to prove it.
Isnt that 101 malware. Hide for virus protection software.
I seem to remember reading that Windows was rewritten from the ground, up. Or was it so long ago that it predates the web?
Would you bet it's not a backdoor?
Sent as ripples into the electromagnetic field. No single photon has been harmed in the process.
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Morons!
I've accepted that any software or operating system has bugs, holes, open invitations for hackers. People should even realize that millions of lines of code are not replaced every time a new OS version is released. This makes for good press against whatever software you dislike, or want to create a frenzy for the paranoid who will go out and buy a security suite that isn't affected. But really these things should be reported to the developer to fix and leave it at that.
Wait a minute. What did MS mean when they said that "we wrote the new Windows from scratch"?
Didn't they "write from scratch" Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 10?
WTF did they write from scratch then, Paint?
You'd think after three decades these people would be able to get this right, but no.
17 ducks
Command Prompt has always been about legacy support. For modern terminal support Microsoft offers Command Prompt... which passes your test find using Select-String. The only variant it fails on is ANSI but I suspect that file did not save properly... I opened it in a few apps and the ñ had been lost.
PS C:\Users\mzzt\Desktop> Select-String
cmdlet Select-String at command pipeline position 1
Supply values for the following parameters:
Pattern[0]: Español
Pattern[1]:
Path[0]: *.txt
Path[1]:
Unicode big endian.txt:1:Español
Unicode.txt:1:Español
UTF-8.txt:1:Español
In the windows kernel will cause windows to use 16GB of ram for nothing and wear out your SSD with constant swapping, finally ending in a blue screen of death in a little over a week.
What can't you do without Unicode?
Operate Slashdot!
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.
Microsoft isn't exactly known for making the most secure software (Windows Defender is often a joke among security software vendors). However, knowing what we now know, that backdoors were in many cases left unpatched (under duress possibly), for government "monitoring" as the CIA has had their noses in MS windows development/feature process for sometime. Windows 10 is particularly vicious on data collection.We may never be sure when the holes are oversights or government "requests" to leave open until someone else discovers it (which they will sooner or later). The UK is trying to force "mandatory" backdoors in security/OS software. That is scary stuff. Will start a whole army of hackers going after software coming from the UK. In China I assume it's already there.
"Imagination is more important than knowledge" - Einstein
Security software does not work. It used to be a good idea back in the day when the internet wasnt everywhere. Now the only thing that is going to work is replacing every single piece of every software in any computer for one designed for security.
Antivirus, malware detection and even firewalls are mostly scams nowdays. IDS/IPS systems are a joke except maybe real good teams that are proficient in snort or sourcefire.
NO SIG
Easy solution is to avoid this API. Anti-malware firms should just build their own routine and avoid this built-in API. Research is incomplete, they should provide list of AV vendors using this API.
also if you tell nerds they are about to get a swirly, they will suck your DAMN balls
I find that a single Iron Palm tends to discourage future attempts at swirlys. Not all geeks are computer geeks heh.
That's a double swirly for you, nerd.
The story behind Dave Cutler and Windows NT was covered in "Showstopper!: The Breakneck Race to Create Windows NT and the Next Generation at Microsoft" by G. Pascal Zachary. A good read. WinNT was developed the same time that Microsoft was still playing nice with IBM and OS/2.
ROTFLMFAO!
I work in this area, and in fact I've implemented real time AV scanners. The sane way is to write a file filter driver and intercept file operations at that level, because guess what? Not all malware is a PE image. We have to look at everything. I don't know what the designed purpose of this API is, but if security software uses it as the sole means to protect a Windows PC the security software is defective, not the API.