Eclypsium researchers published details of the bug, dubbed BootHole, which affects systems that utilize the GRUB2 bootloader. However, Windows systems that don’t use GRUB2 aren’t safe from potential BootHole attacks either, even with Secure Boot enabled.
The BootHole bug affects Windows devices
The recently uncovered BootHole bug may enable attackers to install undetectable bootkits or malicious bootloaders on a Windows machine. Once a threat actor has installed such malware to tamper with the security of the boot process, they can take full control of the victim’s PC. To make matters worse, we’re talking about attackers taking control of your machine, not just the OS. Say, your PC got attacked this way and your antimalware solution failed to fix the problem. You’d probably resort to uninstalling Windows and formatting your hard drive . Sadly, the problem wouldn’t go away because reinstalling your OS wouldn’t fix the compromised firmware. Here’s how Eclypsium describes the scope of the vulnerability: The bug primarily affects Linux systems because of their reliance on the GRUB2 bootloader. And according to Eclypsium, a GRUB2 buffer overflow during the parsing of the grub.cfg file is the root of the vulnerability. Also, in systems that have UEFI Secured Boot enabled, the bug lets the threat actor execute arbitrary code. In the meantime, be on the lookout for BootHole bug fixes from Microsoft or theUEFI Security Response Team. Other vendors/developers of impacted systems should be rolling out a patch any time now. Would you like to share your views or ask any questions about the Windows BootHole bug? Kindly drop us a note in the comments box below.
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