Hackers clock use flows in these microsoft apps to spy on macos users

A cybersecurity group has discovered multiple vulnerabilites in apps developed by Microsoft for Macos That allowed hackers to target users. The Security Flaws Affect Apps Such as Microsoft Office, Outlook, Teams, Onnote and Other Apps from the Redmond Firm, and Hackers WERE WHELE TO ACESES A User’s Camera and MicroPhone by Missing Apple Permission Framework on its desktop operating system .. while microsoft has issued fixes for two of its applications on Macos, its other apps are still vulnerable to Attackers.

Microsoft App Vulnerabilites Let Hackers Access Camera, Microphone Without Permissions

Cybersecurity group cisco talos revolutions of eight vulnerabilities spotted in microsoft’s apps for macos in a blog postThese flaws allowed hackers to inject specially Crafted Malicious Libraries Into Six Microsoft Apps – Outlook, Teams, PowerPoint, Excel, Word, Onenote– And bypass apple’s permission model on macos.

How Hackers can Inject Malicious Libraries Into Legitimate Apps on Macos
Photo Credit: Cisco Talos

In order to Gain access to a user’s microphone and camera, Malicious software would need to be granted expert user consent for the relevant permissions, in accordance with Apple’s Transparency, Consent and Control (TCC) Framework on Macos. However, Some Malicious Programs Can Use A Process Called Library Injection (Or Dylib Injection on Macos)

As a result, Macos users who had microsoft’s apps installed on their computer could be vulnerable to hacking, according to cisco talos. The flaws allowed hackers to record audio by injecting libraries into the AforeMed apps. Microsoft excel is the only app in the list that does not have access to the microphone, while apps such as Microsoft TEAMS Can also Access The Device’s Camera.

Microsoft Patches Two Affected Apps, Other Apps Remain Vulnerable

The cybersecurity group say that it is reported the security vulnerability to microsoft, and the firm has since updated two of the affected apps with fixes for the flaws. Users who are running the latest versions of Microsoft Teams and Onnote Should not be impacted, but the company’s outlook and office apps are currently affected by the secondly

According to cisco talos, microsoft should have disabled library validation, as it experiences users to unnecessary expenses by bypassing huned Runtime Safeguards Put in Put In Place by AppleNe Designed to Protect users via tccx and its permission model.

Apple Could Increase Security on Macos by Prompting Users when a Third-Parthy Plugin is being loaded into apps, as these apps might haveen granted permissions. This could warn users that these external plugins can access the same permissions granted to the original app.