If you run Windows 10, UPDATE YOUR COMPUTER RIGHT NOW!!!

[thewayne]

There is a critical security bug that was discovered late yesterday called PrintNightmare in Windows' print spooler. It affects ALL versions of Windows!

Let me repeat that.

EVERY. FREAKING. VERSION. OF. WINDOWS.

Not just Windows 10.

Server.

7.

Vista.

And on down the line.

It allows the remote creation of privileged accounts, so even if you're not running as an admin user, the villains can create an admin account on your system.

If you're running Windows 10, there's a patch, and you should apply it toot sweet. If you're running an older version of Windows, there will be a patch soon, they're working on them. There is a stop-gap measure: disable the Print Spooler. You won't be able to print remotely, but you also won't be able to be compromised.

Read the comments on Krebs' post, since the patch was rushed out, it may be buggy. You might want to just disable the Print Spooler for now until a better patch can be created.

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2021/07/microsoft-issues-emergency-patch-for-windows-flaw/

https://gizmodo.com/printnightmare-windows-users-need-to-install-this-emer-1847243126

Comments

[dewline]

Okay, thanks for this. At least one person I know is running an older version of Windows, and while they don't do remote printing at all - that I know of - I think they'll appreciate the heads-up.

[thewayne]

Doesn’t matter if you do remote printing. Print Spooler is enabled on all Windows installations.

[dewline]

Well, we'll still have to wait for the patch for this particular Windows version.