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Razer mice and keyboards found to possess admin-granting powers on Windows PCsRazer is working on a fix, though
Razer is working on a fix, though
Razeris a familiar name on ourbest gaming mouseandbest gaming keyboardlists, but it turns out these serpentine peripherals have a rather unnerving hiden talent: simply plugging one in, and installing the Razer Synapse software, is apparently enough to grant admin privileges on any Windows 10 orWindows 11PC.
Razer Sneki Snek BobbleheadWatch on YouTube
Razer Sneki Snek Bobblehead
Where things can really get dodgy is during Synapse installation. You, or someone trying to mess with your PC, can open a PowerShell window from within the installer – and because Windows effectively gave Synapse admin powers, this gives the PowerShell window admin powers too. Thanks to that daisy chain of iffy security, anyone who knows how to run commands in PowerShell will essentially have admin control over the PC.
While there’s something darkly funny about a plastic RGB rodent bringing the downfall of someone’s otherwise locked-down rig, there’s obviously scope here for some genuinely nasty malpractice, from deleting important files to installing malware.
Need local admin and have physical access?- Plug a Razer mouse (or the dongle)- Windows Update will download and execute RazerInstaller as SYSTEM- Abuse elevated Explorer to open Powershell with Shift+Right clickTried contacting@Razer, but no answers. So here’s a freebiepic.twitter.com/xDkl87RCmz— jonhat (@j0nh4t)August 21, 2021
Need local admin and have physical access?- Plug a Razer mouse (or the dongle)- Windows Update will download and execute RazerInstaller as SYSTEM- Abuse elevated Explorer to open Powershell with Shift+Right clickTried contacting@Razer, but no answers. So here’s a freebiepic.twitter.com/xDkl87RCmz
That said, it seems like this is a fairly easy exploit to protect yourself against. For one thing, it’s reliant on the baddie having physical access to your PC, and frankly if they’ve got to that stage in the first place, there are a lot worse things they could do to it. If you are worried about leaving your PC unattended, though, you could always disable your system’s USB ports via Device Manager, then re-enable them once you return.
