An investigation into Windows 11 has recently discovered a ‘cropalypse’ vulnerability found in the Pixel’s screenshot tools also appears to exist in the operating system of Microsoft.
The snip tool Windows 11 (and also in Windows 10), it has a very similar exploit, which could mean that the information that we try so hard to hide when we cut can be removed with the right programs.
According to a tweet from David Buchanan, if you take a screenshot with the tool, hit the save button, then crop it and save it to the same file, the data may still be available in the archive.
Buchanan says that even you can use pretty much the same code that allows you to see the rest of a pixel screenshot to access that data as long as some minor changes are made (you didn’t specify which ones).
A vulnerability that is not so bad… in principle
The vulnerability appears to be somewhat limited in scope. The researcher says that the exploit “requires save-trim-save”, which implies that you won’t have any problems if your initial screenshot only included a specific section of the screen. This is a relief for Microsoft.
And while the Windows 10 tool supposedly has the same problem, Buchanan says that the original snipping tool for Windows 10 does not suffer from this glitch. So now you know, if you are still using Windows 10, use the original application.
Last week, Buchanan and researcher Simon Aarons raised the alarm about Pixels’ “acropalypse” vulnerability, noting that even a fix for this kind of problem doesn’t make it go away.
The images created with the tool could still be out there, with the things you wanted to crop potentially intact. Rachel Tougher Withers, Microsoft spokeswoman, said: “We are aware of these reports. We will take the necessary steps to help keep customers protected.” Windows 11, you have a problem.
