According to cybersecurity firm CyberArk, at least one anti-malware software is vulnerable to exploitation in every Windows system.
So far, we believed that antivirus and anti-malware solutions are our best bet to thwart malware attacks. However, in its research, CyberArk discovered that every product they tested had security flaws that may allow attackers to obtain privilege escalation on a system.
These antivirus or anti-malware products could be abused through file manipulation attacks, which would render them ineffective.
See: Apple removes top anti-malware apps from its store for “stealing data”
CyberArk revealed that it tested security solutions from almost every mainstream vendor, including:
Avira AvastMcAfee Fortinet F-SecureSymantecMicrosoft Kaspersky Checkpoint Trend Micro
The researchers found security flaws that any hacker can easily abuse to hijack a system. This means the antivirus solutions designed to protect the user can inadvertently encourage malware by allowing an attacker to gain elevated privileges on the device.
Moreover, the company claims that most products had similar types of bugs. Anti-malware products, in particular, were more vulnerable to exploitation due to their high privileges. They found the number of bugs in anti-malware solutions to be staggeringly high. However, most of the bugs could be easily removed.
See: Avast acknowledges collecting user data; shuts down Jumpshot
According to Eran Shimony of CyberArk, the vulnerabilities more or less share a similar root cause. All the software use system resources incorrectly while an app is running in a privileged status.
Moreover, Shimony s ..
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