New Zoom Hack Lets Hackers Compromise Windows and Its Login Password

Zoom has been there for nine years, but the immediate requirement of an easy-to-use video conferencing app during the coronavirus pandemic overnight made it one of the most favorite communication tool for millions of people around the globe.

No doubt, Zoom is an efficient online video meeting solution that’s helping people stay socially connected during these unprecedented times, but it’s still not the best choice for everyone—especially those who really care about their privacy and security.

According to cybersecurity expert @_g0dmode, the Zoom video conferencing software for Windows is vulnerable to a classic ‘UNC path injection‘ vulnerability that could allow remote attackers to steal victims’ Windows login credentials and even execute arbitrary commands on their systems.

Such attacks are possible because Zoom for Windows supports remote UNC paths that convert potentially insecure URIs into hyperlinks when received via chat messages to a recipient in a personal or group chat.

Hacking Zoom to Steal Windows Passwords Remotely

Confirmed by researcher Matthew Hickey and demonstrated by Mohamed Baset, the first attack scenario involves the SMBRelay technique that exploits the fact that Windows automatically exposes a user’s login username and NTLM password hashes to a remote SMB server when attempting to connect and download a file hosted on it.

To steal Windows login credentials of a targeted user, all an attacker needs to do is sent a crafted URL (i.e., \\x.x.x.x\abc_file) to a victim via a chat interface.

Once clicked, the attack would eventually allow the attacker-controlled SMB share to automatically capture authentication data from Windows, without the knowledge of the targeted user.

To be noted, the captured passwords are not plaintext; instead, NTLM hashes of them, but a weak one can easily be cracked in seconds using password cracking tools like HashCat or John the Ripper.

In a shared environment, like office space, stolen Windows login credentials can be reused immediately to compromise other users or IT resources, and launch further attacks.

Exploiting Zoom to Compromise Windows Systems Remotely

Besides stealing Windows credentials, the flaw can also be exploited to launch any program already present on a targeted computer or execute arbitrary commands to compromise it remotely, confirmed by Google security researcher Tavis Ormandy.