Vulnerabilities & CVEs BleepingComputer 3 weeks ago

New Windows Defender zero-day blocks Microsoft antivirus updates

CN
CyberNew Threat Research Desk
• Original Reporting: BleepingComputer
CyberNew Threat Intel Assessment
Assessed Severity: CRITICAL
Impacted Surface
Client Endpoints & Operating Systems
Intelligence Sector
Vulnerabilities & CVEs

Analyst Takeaway

"Over the weekend, security researcher Abdelhamid Naceri (also known as Nightmare Eclipse) released another Microsoft Defender zero-day exploit that blocks antivirus updates. Naceri named it BigDiskBuster and said it is similar to another Defender zero-day known as UnDefend, which he released in April and that allowed standard users to block definition updates. The security researcher added that..."

Recommended Defense & Mitigation

  • Emergency Patching: Prioritize vendor patches and CVE mitigation across internet-facing assets immediately.
  • Perimeter Audit: Inspect perimeter firewall logs and hunt for unauthorized RCE indicators.
Curated & Verified by CyberNew Threat Intelligence Desk Standard Defense Framework (NIST / MITRE ATT&CK)

Microsoft Defender

Over the weekend, security researcher Abdelhamid Naceri (also known as Nightmare Eclipse) released another Microsoft Defender zero-day exploit that blocks antivirus updates.

Naceri named it BigDiskBuster and said it is similar to another Defender zero-day known as UnDefend, which he released in April and that allowed standard users to block definition updates.

The security researcher added that BigDiskBuster works on all supported Windows versions and that it needs to run in the background to block Defender updates.

"Made a funny tool, completely denies defender from updating so you're stuck with your current version if the tool is running in the background," he said.

"This proof of concept is similar to UnDefend, it prevents windows defender from performing platform/signature updates. Seems to work on all supported windows versions but PoC is a bit buggy and needs some rewritting but you get the idea."

BigDiskBuster tweet

Save your seat

Source Verification & Original Intelligence

This threat report was reviewed by CyberNew analysts and cross-referenced with primary security disclosures from BleepingComputer.

Primary Advisory →