Security | Threat Detection | Cyberattacks | DevSecOps | Compliance

The Security Accounts Manager (SAM) is a database file in Windows operating system that comprises of usernames and passwords. The main aim behind SAM is to make our system more secure and reliable by protecting credentials in case of a data breach. Configuring SAM gives users the ability to authenticate themselves to the local machine if an account has been created for them in security accounts manager.

Adversaries often exploit legacy protocols like Windows NTLM that unfortunately remain widely deployed despite known vulnerabilities. Previous CrowdStrike blog posts have covered critical vulnerabilities in NTLM that allow remote code execution and other NTLM attacks where attackers could exploit vulnerabilities to bypass MIC (Message Integrity Code) protection, session signing and EPA (Enhanced Protection for Authentication).

Controlling your Windows PC remotely can open a world of possibilities; remote work, remote assistance, remote system diagnosis and network troubleshooting are just some of the advantages of using Remote Desktop Protocol or RDP. Developed by Microsoft, RDP allows you to remotely connect to another computer over a network, giving you full access to and control over the computer’s software, data and resources.

On Friday, May 27, Security vendor nao_sec identified a malicious document leveraging a zero-day RCE vulnerability (CVE-2022-30190) in Microsoft Windows Support Diagnostic Tool (MSDT). The actively exploited vulnerability exists when MSDT is called using the URL protocol from a calling application, such as Microsoft Word.

Monday, May 30th, 2022, Microsoft issued CVE-2022-30190 for a Remote Code Execution vulnerability with the Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool (MSDT) in Windows: “A remote code execution vulnerability exists when MSDT is called using the URL protocol from a calling application such as Word. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability can run arbitrary code with the privileges of the calling application.

On Friday, May 27, 2022, Security vendor nao_sec identified a malicious document leveraging a zero-day remote code execution RCE vulnerability (CVE-2022-30190) in Microsoft Windows Support Diagnostic Tool (MSDT). The actively exploited vulnerability exists when MSDT is called using the URL protocol from a calling application, such as Microsoft Word.

This month, Microsoft announced a vulnerability in PPTP, a part of the VPN remote access services on Windows systems that runs on port 1723/tcp. Through Microsoft’s MAPP program, Corelight Labs reviewed a proof of concept exploit for this vulnerability and wrote a Zeek®-based detection for it.

This month, Microsoft announced two vulnerabilities in portmap, which is part of ONC RPC, on Windows systems. This blog will discuss Zeek detection packages for CVE-2022-24491 and CVE-2022-24497 developed by Corelight Labs.

The Windows ‘Administrator’ account is a highly privileged account that is created during a Windows installation by default. If this account is not properly secured, attackers may leverage it to conduct privilege escalation and lateral movement. When this account is used for administrative purposes, it can be difficult to distinguish between legitimate and malicious activity.

April Patch Tuesday brings 145 vulnerability fixes from Microsoft — the highest number in 19 months—including CVE-2022-26809, a critical remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability in Windows Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Runtime library that impacts all supported Windows products. Notably, Microsoft also released security updates for Windows 7, an end-of-life product since January 2020, which highlights the severity of CVE-2022-26809.