Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool
The Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool (MSDT) is a service in Microsoft Windows that allows Microsoft technical support agents to analyze diagnostic data remotely for troubleshooting purposes.[1] In April 2022 it was observed to have a security vulnerability that allowed remote code execution which was being exploited to attack computers in Russia and Belarus, and later against the Tibetan government in exile.[2] Microsoft advised a temporary workaround of disabling the MSDT by editing the Windows registry.[3]
Use
When contacting support the user is told to run MSDT and given a unique "passkey" which they enter. They are also given an "incident number" to uniquely identify their case. The MSDT can also be run offline which will generate a .CAB file which can be uploaded from a computer with an internet connection.[4]
Windows versions
See also
References
- ^ Rabia Noureen (May 31, 2022). "Microsoft Acknowledges Office Zero-Day Flaw Affecting Windows Diagnostic Tool". petri.com.
- ^ Carly Page (June 1, 2022). "China-backed hackers are exploiting unpatched Microsoft zero-day". techcrunch.com.
- ^ MSRC (May 30, 2022). "Guidance for CVE-2022-30190 Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool Vulnerability".
- ^ "How to run Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool in Windows 10".