Specialists from the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said that they were able to develop a PACMAN attack technique, which is possible due to a hardware vulnerability in the Apple M1 processor. Moreover, it cannot be closed by software.

The attack itself is carried out using software and hardware, and it can be performed remotely. The PACMAN attack makes it possible to gain access to the kernel of the operating system. At the same time, potentially the same vulnerabilities can be in Qualcomm and Samsung processors, but this has not yet been confirmed.

The technical side of the attack is based on the Pointer Authentication function. It is used to check Pointer Authentication Codes (PACs), allowing only code-signed software to run. However, the PACMAN method allows you to select the necessary PAC values. In part, this technique is similar to Specter and Meltdown in Intel processors.

At the same time, Apple spokesman Scott Radcliffe said that the vulnerability does not pose an immediate threat to users and is not sufficient in itself to bypass operating system protections.

A few years ago, a vulnerability was already found in Arm processors that allows an attacker to gain unauthorized access to data.

A serious vulnerability has been found in the Microsoft Office suite that could potentially allow attackers to execute arbitrary code.

She was assigned the number CVE-2022-30190, and among the researchers they gave the name Follina. As noted in Kaspersky Lab, the most unpleasant thing is that there is no fix yet, and in the meantime, the vulnerability is already being actively exploited by attackers. Vulnerability CVE-2022-30190 threatens all operating systems of the Windows family, both regular and server.

While the update is being developed, experts recommend that all Windows users and administrators take advantage of temporary workarounds. As a Microsoft workaround recommends disable the MSDT URL protocol.

The CVE-2022-30190 vulnerability itself is contained in the Microsoft Windows Support Diagnostic Tool (MSDT), but due to the implementation of this tool, a single malicious office document is enough to exploit the vulnerability.

The scheme could be like this. Attackers create a malicious office document and slip it to the victim, for example by sending an email with an attachment. The infected file contains a link to an HTML file that contains JavaScript code that executes malicious code on the command line via MSDT. As a result, attackers are able to install programs, view, modify or destroy data, as well as create new accounts – that is, do everything that the privileges of the user who opened the infected file allow.

Microsoft has announced that its experts have discovered a serious vulnerability affecting many Android phones, and also helped to fix it.

The vulnerability was discovered in a framework from Israeli developer MCE Systems, which provides a self-diagnostic mechanism for identifying and fixing problems on Android devices. The framework is used by a large number of major international mobile service providers in pre-installed Android system apps that cannot be removed. It is also used in apps with millions of downloads on Google Play.

According to Microsoft, the vulnerability allowed remote and local attacks using system privileges with wide access to various information. At the moment, MCE Systems has already eliminated the vulnerability, however, applications using the framework also need to be updated. AT&T, Telus, Rogers, Freedom Mobile, and Bell have released fixes for their applications. However, Microsoft stresses that it is likely that not all applications with the vulnerability have received updates.