Microsoft Fixes The Bug Corrupting NTFS File System

Microsoft has fixed a bug in Windows 10 that could cause NTFS volumes to be corrupted simply by accessing a specific path or viewing a specially crafted file. Attackers can take advantage of this.

A few weeks ago we reported about this bug and also that Microsoft had been inactive for so long, although the bug had been reported several times and could affect many users. But now the turning point – the Windows 10 (Insider) team is working on the problem.

As reported by BleepingComputer, this NTFS corruption error has now been fixed. The Windows bug can mean that any user, even if he has only limited rights, can damage an NTFS volume. As soon as Windows tries to access the path, it reports: “The file in the directory is damaged and unreadable” and then marks the drive as damaged and in need of repair. Windows will then ask the user to restart the computer and run chkdsk to fix the corruption.

Windows chkdsk will fix the problem for most users and the computer will start normally. However, this is not always the case, which makes the bug a real problem.

Mozilla has started an exam

After the bug became known, there was hope that Microsoft would release a fix as part of the February patch Tuesday – but nothing like that came up. Others did, like Mozilla: Firefox 85.0.1 added a check to the Preventing access to the corrupt path and thus protecting users from harm. With the release of the new Windows 10 Insider Build with the number 21322 this week, Microsoft incorporated an undocumented fix that now also prevents access to the path.

Anyone who tries to access the path with the Insider Build now receives the system message: “The syntax of the file name, the directory name or the data carrier label is incorrect.” Then nothing more happens. It is not yet known whether this fix is ​​already being tested in other builds so that the bug can be expected to be corrected by March patch day.