Microsoft advises customers to disable Windows print spooler to safeguard against another new vulnerability

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Published onJuly 17, 2021

published onJuly 17, 2021

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Over the past several weeks, Microsoft has been battling against security vulnerabilities identified in the Windows print spooler service, leaving computers across the world potentially exposed to malicious attacks. In June, a patch for a remote code execution flaw was released, but thisdidn’t resolve a similar flaw, later nicknamed PrintNightmare. Following the discovery of the PrintNightmare flaw, another patch was released, however, thisdidn’t fix the flaw in all configurations.

As of Thursday, Microsoft has begun to warn of yetanother newly-discovered vulnerability in the Windows Print Spooler service(viaArs Technica). This flaw allows attackers who already have access to a system to run malicious code using limited system privileges to elevate their privileges, enabling the attacker to access more sensitive areas of the Windows system, potentially resulting in the ability to run malware each time the machine is started, as an example. Using this flaw, Microsoft warns that an “attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights.”

For this latest flaw, Microsoft has recommended that customers disable the Windows print spooler service in order to reduce the potential of their devices being left exposed to hacks.

This latest flaw is being tracked under CVE-2021-34481, and was discovered by Jacob Baines, from cybersecurity firm Dragos. According to Baines, this latest flaw in the Windows Print Spooler service was reported to Microsoft in June, with Baines saying that he was “surprised” Microsoft has now decided to warn of the vulnerability, “because it was very abrupt and not related to the deadline I gave them (August 7), nor was it released with a patch.”

As it stands, there is currently no patch for this latest flaw, with the only workaround being to stop and disable the service. A patch is being worked on, according to Microsoft, but there is currently no ETA on when this would be made available.

Radu Tyrsina

Radu Tyrsina has been a Windows fan ever since he got his first PC, a Pentium III (a monster at that time).

For most of the kids of his age, the Internet was an amazing way to play and communicate with others, but he was deeply impressed by the flow of information and how easily you can find anything on the web.

Prior to founding Windows Report, this particular curiosity about digital content enabled him to grow a number of sites that helped hundreds of millions reach faster the answer they’re looking for.

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Microsoft advises customers to disable Windows print spooler to safeguard against another new vulnerability