Cyber exposure company Tenable has announced that its research team discovered a vulnerability in the Slack Desktop Application for Windows that could have allowed an attacker to alter where a victim’s files are stored when the documents are downloaded within Slack.
Slack has become a critical tool for many organisations looking to keep their employees connected. The vulnerability, which was found in Slack Desktop Application for Windows version 3.3.7 and has since been patched in version 3.4.0, could have allowed an attacker to send a crafted hyperlink via a Slack message that, once clicked, changes the document download location path to an attacker-owned file share. By exploiting the flaw, an attacker can not only steal future documents downloaded within Slack, but they can also manipulate them, such as injecting malicious code that would compromise the victim’s machine once opened.
“The digital economy and global distributed workforce have brought new technologies to market with the ultimate goal of seamless connectivity,” said Renaud Deraison, co-founder and chief technology officer, Tenable. “But it’s critical that organisations realise this emerging technology is potentially vulnerable and part of their expanding attack surface. Tenable Research continues to work with vendors such as Slack to disclose our discoveries to ensure consumers and organisations are secure.”
Slack has released version 3.4.0 to address this vulnerability. Users are urged to confirm that their Slack for Windows is updated to this latest version.
