Microsoft says it is planning to fix a bizarre Windows 10 bug that can corrupt a hard drive just by looking at an icon. Security researcher Jonas L first warned about the bug earlier this week, describing it as an “unpleasant vulnerability”. Attackers can hide a specially crafted line inside a ZIP file, folder, or even a simple Windows shortcut. All a Windows 10 user needs to do is extract the ZIP file or simply look for a folder that contains a malicious shortcut and it will automatically corrupt the hard drive.
Will Dormann, vulnerability analyst at CERT Coordination Center (CERT / CC), confirmed the findingsand notes that there may be more ways to trigger NTFS corruption. Dormann also revealed that the vulnerability has existed in Windows 10 for almost three years, and that he reported another NTFS problem two years ago this has not yet been corrected.
“We are aware of this issue and will provide an update in a future version,” said a Microsoft spokesman in a statement to The Verge. “The use of this technique depends on social engineering and, as always, we encourage our customers to practice good online computing habits, including being careful when opening unknown files or accepting file transfers.”
Others found that the vulnerability also occurs if you simply paste the incorrect string into a browser’s address bar. Biping Computer also have tested the bug in several different ways and noted that it will prompt Windows 10 users to restart their PC to repair the corrupted disk records. Restarting will trigger the Windows chkdsk process, which should successfully repair the corruption.
The repair process is not always automatic. Dormann says may require manual intervention to successfully repair corrupted disk records. The bug also does not require administrator rights to trigger or special write permissions. This could make it more problematic for IT administrators if chkdsk does not automatically repair the affected drives.