NSA Warns That ‘BlueKeep' Vulnerability In Windows XP And 7 Is Especially Dangerous

Microsoft has issued a BlueKeep patch for Windows 7, and in an unusual step, for Windows XP as well.

- Mark Hachman

The National Security Agency is warning users that a recent vulnerability affecting Windows 7 and Windows XP systems is potentially “wormable,” meaning that it could be exploited and weaponized by malware.

Microsoft issued an alert in mid-May about a Remote Code Execution vulnerability, known as CVE-2019-0708 (go.pcworld.com/ cve2), that can affect Windows 7, Windows XP, Windows 2003, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Windows Server 2008. Since then, the vulnerability has been nicknamed “BlueKeep.” Microsoft issued a BlueKeep patch for Windows 7 (go.pcworld.com/ ptw7), and another BlueKeep patch for Windows XP (go.pcworld.com/ptxp). Microsoft strongly urges users to patch affected systems.