Zoom Vulnerability: Escalation of Privileges

While specific technical details of the vulnerability haven’t been publicly disclosed by Zoom to prevent widespread exploitation, researchers and security experts have offered insights into the potential nature of the exploit. Some possible techniques attackers might have employed include:

Malformed Packets: Attackers could have crafted network packets containing malformed data that the Zoom software incorrectly processed, leading to unintended code execution. This technique often involves exploiting buffer overflows, where attackers overflow a buffer with more data than it can hold, causing the program to overwrite adjacent memory locations and potentially execute attacker-controlled code.

Integer Overflows: Exploiting integer overflows occurs when mathematical operations on integers result in a value exceeding the maximum representable value. If the software doesn’t handle these overflows properly, it could lead to unintended consequences, such as manipulating program control flow and executing malicious code.

Code Injection: By supplying specially crafted input that bypasses validation checks, attackers might have been able to inject malicious code into the Zoom application. This code could then be executed and allow attackers to gain unauthorized privileges on the system.