Due to the far reaching implications , Security Researchers will typically submit Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability serious 0-day Windows exploits to Microsoft and give the company ample time to patch Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability the vulnerabilities before they can be used to create malware and do harm . A security researcher that goes by the Twitter handle SandboxEscaper , however , decided it would be a good idea to expose Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability a 0-day threat to the world on Twitter , without forewarning Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability Microsoft , and even linked to proof on concept code on GitHub that has since been verified as functional . The language in the original Tweet prevents me from directly embedding it here . SandboxEscaper essentially said Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability , “ Here is the alpc bug as 0day ... I do n't * * * * ing care about life anymore . Neither do I ever again want to submit to MSFT anyway ... ” The official post on the CERT/CC website explains Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability , “ The Microsoft Windows task scheduler SchRpcSetSecurity API contains Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability a vulnerability in the handling of ALPC , which can allow a local user to gain SYSTEM privileges . We have confirmed Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability that the public exploit code works on 64-bit Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016 systems . We have also confirmed Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability compatibility with 32-bit Windows 10 with minor modifications to the public exploit code . Compatibility with other Windows versions is possible with further modifications. ” At this point , Microsoft does not have a patch at the ready , but according to reports a fix will be coming Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability in the next batch of patch Tuesday updates . Because the exploit requires the local execution of code , it doesn ’ t necessarily warrant an out-of-band update . However , with proof of concept code readily available , it ’ s possible nefarious individuals could trick less savvy users into running the code and gain full access to their systems . As always , never execute any files from unknown or untrusted sources.The bug lies in the Windows Task Scheduler ’ s Advanced Local Procedure Call , or ALPC , interface . It allows a local user to gain system level privileges and have free reign over the system to do whatever they want , including overwriting / modifying system files . Will Dormann of CERT/CC verified Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability the original exploit code works on a fully patched Windows 10 x64 installation and later modified the code to work on 32-bit systems as well .

Hackers are likely exploiting the easy-to-find vulnerabilities , according to the security researcher who warned Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability the Pentagon of the flaws months ago . The vulnerable systems could allow hackers or foreign actors to launch cyberattacks through the department 's systems to make it look as though it originated from US networks . Dan Tentler , founder of cybersecurity firm Phobos Group , who discovered Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability the vulnerable hosts , warned Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability the flaws are so easy to find Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability that he believes he was probably not the first person to find Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability them . `` It 's very likely that these servers are being exploited in the wild , '' he told me on the phone . While the Pentagon is said to be aware Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability of the vulnerable servers , it has yet to implement any fixes Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability -- more than eight months after the department was alerted Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability . It 's a unique case that casts doubts on the effectiveness of the Trump administration 's anticipated executive order on cybersecurity , which aims to review all federal systems of security issues and vulnerabilities over a 60-day period . The draft order was leaked Attack.Databreach last week , but it was abruptly pulled minutes before it was expected to be signed on Tuesday . Tentler , a critic of the plans , argued that the draft plans are `` just not feasible . '' `` It 's laughable that an order like this was drafted in the first place because it demonstrates a complete lack of understanding what the existing problems are , '' he said . `` The order will effectively demand a vulnerability assessment on the entire government , and they want it in 60 days ? It 's been months -- and they still have n't fixed it , '' he said . In the past year , the Pentagon became the first government department to ease up on computer hacking laws by allowing researchers to find and report bugs and flaws in systems in exchange for financial rewards . Trump aides ' use of encrypted messaging may violate records law Using disappearing messages in government could be a `` recipe for corruption , '' says one expert . Researchers must limit their testing to two domains -- `` defense.gov '' ( and its subdomains ) and any `` .mil '' subdomain . In an effort to pare down the list of hosts from `` all public Department of Defense hosts '' to `` only the ones in scope , '' Tentler was able to identify several hosts that answered to the domain names in scope . `` There were hosts that were discovered Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability that had serious technical misconfiguration problems that could be easily abused by an attacker inside or outside of the country , who could want to implicate the US as culprits in hacking attacks if they so desire , '' he told me . `` The flaw could allow politically motivated attacks that could implicate the US , '' he added . In other words , a foreign hacker or nation-state attacker could launch a cyberattack and make it look like it came from the Pentagon 's systems . Tentler argued that the hosts were covered by the scope of the wildcard domains . A Pentagon spokesperson confirmed Tuesday that the vulnerabilities had been fixed Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability , and encouraged researchers to continue to submit Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability bugs and vulnerabilities , which are covered under the Pentagon 's vulnerability disclosure policy .