Vietnamese cybersecurity researcher detects critical Windows vulnerability

Le Huu Quang Linh at Vietnam National Cybersecurity Center (NCSC) has detected a security vulnerability on the Microsoft Windows operating system, the center announced last week.

The vulnerability, called Microsoft Windows Codecs Library Remote Code Execution Vulnerability, or CVE-2020-1319, may allow a successful attacker control of the affected system, including program installation, viewing changes or data deletion, according to Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC). It could potentially affect millions of users, the NCSC said.

Classified as "critical" by Microsoft, the vulnerability affects 29 versions of Microsoft Windows.

Last month, Linh placed among 91 colleagues in MSRC’s Most Valuable Security Researcher 2020, having made "exceptional contributions to the overall security of Microsoft customers between July 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020," MSRC said on its website.

Vietnam recorded 2,017 cyber attacks on its information systems in the first half of 2020, down 27.1 percent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Information and Communications.