As much as developers try, at the end of the day there is no piece of software that is completely bug-free. This is because sometimes there are bugs and security vulnerabilities that one might not have even thought of when creating the software. Take for example after about 20 years, a new Windows printer bug has been discovered.
This bug is actually a security vulnerability that was discovered in the Windows Print Spooler software. This basically manages available printers and the printing of documents, but what researchers at Vectra discovered is that due to this vulnerability, hackers could potentially slip malware onto a PC as the spooler does not verify whether or not the printer’s drivers are the real deal.
What’s worse is that if the printer is connected to a network, like in an office, it could potentially spread to other PCs on the same network as well, infecting all of them in the process. Thankfully this bug has been patched by Microsoft and you can go ahead and download it. Unfortunately for those running on Windows XP, you’re out of luck as Microsoft has officially stopped supporting the platform.
The good news is that this bug can only be taken advantage of if the attacker attaches the device to your PC or network, so chances of a random hacker coming into your home or office and doing it is pretty low.
Filed in . Read more about Malware, Microsoft, Security and Windows.