Windows Password Hash Vulnerability – ADV170014
A vulnerability in Microsoft Windows allows an attacker to steal Windows NTLM (a security protocol suite that provides network authentication) password hashes without interaction has recently been patched by Microsoft.
An attacker would be able to target a user with specific conditions applied and a Shell Command File (SCF) would be designed to exploit the vulnerability. The conditions that have to be met on the targeted system must have publicly accessible shared folders with folders that aren’t password protected.
Once the attacker has access to an unprotected shared folder they will then add the SCF into that folder. This file will then execute and gather the targeted system’s NTLM password hash, which will be sent back to the attacker.
Remediation
The patch was released in Microsoft’s Patch Tuesday in October.
- Apply the ADV170014 security advisory as this will disable NTLM for Windows 10 and Server 2016 only.
For other Windows versions that aren’t patched:
- Ensure strong NTLM passwords are used will make make cracking the hash difficult.
- Ensure all folders that are available publicly are password protected.
Affected Platforms
Windows 10 and Server 2016
However all versions of Microsoft Windows from Windows 3.11 are affected but a patch hasn’t been deployed for them.
For further details see – https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/ADV170014
Duncan is a technology professional with over 20 years experience of working in various IT roles. He has a interest in cyber security, and has a wide range of other skills in radio, electronics and telecommunications.