Computerworld

Critical Windows vuln. in .LNK files = Stuxnet (and IE IV)

Eeek! All versions of Microsoft Windows have a nasty shortcut-file vulnerability, it has emerged. Simply displaying the icon of a crafty .LNK file will cause malware infection. The Stuxnet worm has ...
Forbes

Microsoft Windows Cyberattack Warning — Do Not Open These Files

Beware these dangerous Windows LNK files. Update, June 9, 2025: This story, originally published on June 8, has been updated with a statement from Microsoft regarding the latest ongoing cyberattacks ...
Homeland Security Today

The Missing LNK — Correlating User Search LNK Files

Forensic investigators use LNK shortcut files to recover metadata about recently accessed files, including files deleted after the time of access. In a recent investigation, FireEye Mandiant ...
InfoWorld

Watch out for this nasty zero-day exploit

Windows' dumb way of handling certain shortcut icons opens door to new rootkit exploit that can nail fully patched systems An antivirus company based in Belarus called VirusBlokAda claims that its ...
CSOonline

Windows shortcuts’ use as a vector for malware may be cut short

A third-party patch management company is cutting short attackers’ use of LNK files to smuggle in malicious commands, while Microsoft prefers to tell the whole story. A longstanding problem with the ...
Computerworld

Windows shortcut files targeted by ransomware gang Global Group

When Microsoft patched a vulnerability last summer that allowed threat actors to use Windows’ shortcut (.lnk) files in exploits, defenders might have hoped use of this tactic would decline. They were ...
Bleeping Computer

Malicious Windows 'LNK' attacks made easy with new Quantum builder

Malware researchers have noticed a new tool that helps cybercriminals build malicious .LNK files to deliver payloads for the initial stages of an attack. LNKs are Windows shortcut files that can ...
CRN

Microsoft Launches 'Fix It' Tool For .LNK Flaw

Microsoft implemented the "Fix It" tool in an attempt to temporarily plug the security hole and prevent existing attacks that are already exploiting the vulnerability by disabling some icons from ...
Bleeping Computer

Emotet malware now installs via PowerShell in Windows shortcut files

The Emotet botnet is now using Windows shortcut files (.LNK) containing PowerShell commands to infect victims computers, moving away from Microsoft Office macros that are now disabled by default. The ...
Dark Reading

Nation-State Groups Abuse Microsoft Windows Shortcut Exploit

State-sponsored APTs from North Korea, Iran, Russia, and China are targeting victims using a Windows shortcut file exploit, according to new research from Trend Micro’s Zero Day Initiative (ZDI). In ...