The vulnerability is rather critical, as it can give hackers access to your machine by exploiting an Escalation of Privilege and Denial of Service flaw. When a criminal manages to get into your PC, Escalation of Privilege leads to the creation of a profile with administrator rights. Through this action, users can be locked out of their computer, unwanted software can be downloaded and installed, or the computer can be used in a massive botnet. Keep reading for ways to protect your system.
Here’s the backstory
Denial of Service attacks can lead to the disabling of a variety of security tools. This leaves your computer vulnerable to further attack, and malicious software can use your system in a botnet campaign. Computers found to have this dangerous flaw include HP’s OMEN gaming laptops and desktops, HP Pavilion laptops and several HP Envy models. These span millions of HP computers, and SentinelLabs explains that thankfully none of the exploits are in the wild yet. The problem originates from a vulnerability in the drivers of Omen Gaming Hub software. Gamers use it together with the HP Omen Command Center.
What you can do about the HP Omen problem
As with all software and operating systems, keeping them up to date is the best way to stay safe. To fix this issue, HP released the updated OMEN Gaming Hub SDK Package 1.0.44. When this installs, it will automatically remove the vulnerability. HP’s OMEN Gaming Hub version 11.6.3.0 or later will also take care of the problem. If you use HP Support Assistant, the update will automatically download and install. The use of HP Support Assistant isn’t mandatory, and if you don’t use it, you’ll need to download the update manually. To do this, open the HP Support Assistant to complete the process. Alternatively, you can also go to the dedicated Software & Drivers page to get the update.
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