Microsoft is having a field day with Windows 10 and by field day, I mean a catastrophe. Subsequent cooked updates have broken and undone previous patches, but a new update is here to hopefully put us at peace once and for all.
[referenced url=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2019/09/malware-alert-microsoft-just-broke-windows-defender/” thumb=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2018/05/windows-10-crash-410×231.jpg” title=”MALWARE ALERT: Microsoft Just Broke Windows Defender” excerpt=”Microsoft has been a leader in software development for decades but what it’s also really good at is releasing borked updates. The latest is a real doozy and some users are reporting Windows Defender is cooked now too which was just confirmed by Microsoft. Here’s what you can do to fix it.”]
Microsoft released two new security updates on 23 September to help mediate some of the issues users have been reporting, namely the Breaking of Windows Defender, which sounds like an IT horror movie.
Users who had upgraded to KB4052623 reported their Windows Defender was executing scans but was only looking at a critically small number of them — around 50 files. Microsoft admitted it was aware of the issue and was working on a fix.
The CVE-2019-1255 patch is supposed to solve all that.
“A denial of service vulnerability exists when Microsoft Defender improperly handles files. An attacker could exploit the vulnerability to prevent legitimate accounts from executing legitimate system binaries,” the update explained.
Microsoft added it wasn’t too serious as in order “to exploit the vulnerability, an attacker would first require execution on the victim system.”
But the other security patch, CVE-2019-1367, fixes something a bit more sinister.
Internet Explorer was also at risk as its memory could be corrupted “in such a way that an attacker could run arbitrary code in the context of the current user.” Thankfully, the update fixes it “by changing how the scripting engine handles objects in memory.”
Help me fix my PC
You won’t have to fix the Windows Defender issue because the patch, CVE-2019-1255, will automatically be applied. To check if your version of Microsoft Malware Protection Engine is safe, it should be Version 1.1.16400.2.
The Internet Explorer issue, which should be updated even if you don’t actively use it (who does), and can be grabbed from the Windows Update Catalogue. Quickly check what version your Internet Explorer is (Settings>About Internet Explorer) and what version of Windows you have.
Hopefully, it’s the last we’ll hear of Windows problems for now.
[referenced url=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2019/09/how-to-work-around-windows-10s-latest-update-issues/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/nixdzznqtiepwpkeqiwc.jpg” title=”How To Work Around Windows 10’s Latest Update Fail” excerpt=”Here we go again. The timeline is a bit messy, so try to stay with us on this one. Microsoft released a Windows update last week to fix a bug from a previous patch that was causing unexpected CPU spikes, killing users’ performance on their desktops and laptops. This patch came with some annoying bugs of its own, which Microsoft (and other users) are now attempting to address.”]
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