Windows Defender has become in recent years one of the most used security tools by users. It is integrated into what is the most widely used operating system on desktop computers and helps us avoid threats that may compromise proper operation. In this article, we echo a zero-day vulnerability that Microsoft has fixed. It is important that users have the equipment updated correctly.
Microsoft fixes zero-day vulnerability in Windows Defender
Zero-day vulnerabilities are those that are exploited before the patch is made. An important problem that could undoubtedly expose information on computers and allow the entry of external threats.
From Microsoft they have detected a zero-day vulnerability tracked as CVE-2021-1647. This is remote code execution found in the Malware Protection Engine component (mpengine.dll). The software giant has already issued a patch to correct this flaw.
It should also be noted that they have created a proof of concept to exploit this vulnerability. However, it may not be available for many computers and may not work in certain circumstances.
The latest version of Microsoft Malware Protection Engine affected by this vulnerability is version 1.1.17600.5. Day zero has been fixed in version 1.1.17700.4. Therefore, it is important that users have this update installed on their computer.
How to know if we are protected against this vulnerability
It is important to always keep systems and devices up to date . Vulnerabilities like this one that we’ve seen affect Windows Defender can emerge. Therefore, we can check which version of Microsoft Malware Protection Engine we have on our computer. This way we will know if it is the vulnerable version or we have the latest version installed that corrects the problem.
To do this we have to go to Start, write Windows Security and open it. Later we go to Settings , bottom left, and click on About . There it will show us different data related to the versions of Windows Defender that we have installed.
The data that interests us is the one that appears next to Engine version. In this case, as we can see, it is version 1.1.17700.4. Therefore, the computer is properly updated and is not vulnerable to the vulnerability that Windows Defender can compromise.
Frequent updates
Keep in mind that Windows Defender generally receives updates at least once a month. This serves precisely to correct bugs like this one that we have seen, as well as to add improvements to achieve higher performance and prevent the entry of threats.
As we always say, we advise having the equipment properly updated. There are many errors that can arise when browsing the net, many types of viruses and threats that in one way or another could compromise us. It is essential that we always have the latest versions to avoid problems.
We have seen that Microsoft’s antivirus is widely used to maintain security. We leave you a tutorial where we explain what to do to improve Windows Defender security.