A security researcher who goes by the name jonhat(Opens in a new window) discovered a zero-day vulnerability on Twitter that was made possible by Razer’s peripherals, as reported by BleepingComputer. Jonhat decided to make the vulnerability public by posting a video of the privilege escalation in action after not receiving a response from Razer. You can see it in the tweet below, or you can watch it on Streamable (Opens in a new window) in better quality.
The Razer Synapse software is automatically downloaded and installed when a Razer peripheral is plugged in, making privilege escalation possible. The Razer software installation also receives the same level of privileges because the installation is started by a Windows process with system privileges.
You can open a PowerShell window if you decide to manually select the folder where the software will be installed by pressing Shift and right-clicking. The PowerShell window also gets system privileges because the installation is running with them.
[ruby_related heading=”More Read” total=3 layout=6]
Before unplugging the peripheral and making their way out of your computer, a malicious user has everything they need, including system privileges and an open PowerShell window. However, it is hoped that this flaw will soon be closed. Jonhat confirmed (Opens in a new window) that Razer has contacted them and is working on a fix to be released as soon as possible after posting the video. Up to that point, be exhausted of anybody looking at your Windows PC who likewise is conveying a Razer mouse or console.
