Exploit code has been released for an unpatched Windows privilege escalation flaw reported privately to Microsoft, allowing attackers to gain SYSTEM or elevated administrator permissions.

Dubbed BlueHammer, the vulnerability was published by a security researcher discontent with how Microsoft’s Security Response Center (MSRC) handled the disclosure process.

Since, the security issue has no official patch and there is no update to address it, the flaw is considered a zero-day by Microsoft’s definition.

It is unclear what triggered the public release of the exploit code. In a short post under the alias Chaotic Eclipse, the researcher says “I was not bluffing Microsoft, and I’m doing it again.”

“Unlike previous times, I’m not explaining how this works; y’all geniuses can figure it out. Also, huge thanks to MSRC leadership for making this possible,” the researcher added.

On April 3rd, Chaotic Eclipse published a GitHub repository for the BlueHammer vulnerability exploit under the alias Nightmare-Eclipse, expressing disbelief and frustration at how Microsoft decided to address the security issue.

“I’m just really wondering what was the math behind their decision, like you knew this was going to happen and you still did whatever you did ? Are they serious ?”

The researcher also noted that the proof-of-concept (PoC) code contains bugs that may prevent it from working reliably.

Will Dormann, principal vulnerability analyst at Tharros (formerly Analygence), confirmed to BleepingComputer that the BlueHammer exploit works, saying that the flaw is a local privilege escalation (LPE) that combines a TOCTOU (time-of-check to time-of-use) and a path confusion.

He explained that the issue is not easy to exploit and that it gives a local attacker access to the Security Account Manager (SAM) database, which contains password hashes for local accounts.

Given this access, attackers can escalate to SYSTEM privileges and potentially achieve complete machine compromise.

“At that point, [the attackers] basically own the system, and can do things like spawn a SYSTEM-privileged shell,” Dormann told BleepingComputer.

Some researchers testing the exploit confirmed that the code was not successful on Windows Server, confirming Chaotic Eclipse’s statement that there are bugs that may prevent it from working properly.

Will Dormann added that on the Server platform, the BlueHammer exploit increases permissions from non-admin to elevated administrator, a protection that requires the user to temporarily authorize an operation that needs full access to the system.

While the reason behind Chaotic Eclipse/Nightmare-Eclipse’s disclosure remains uncertain, Dormann notes that one requirement from MSRC when submitting a vulnerability is to provide a video of the exploit.

Although this may help Microsoft sift through reported vulnerabilities more easily, it adds to the effort of submitting a valid report.

Despite BlueHammer requiring a local attacker to exploit it, the risk it poses is still significant, as hackers can gain local access through a variety of vectors, including social engineering, leveraging other software vulnerabilities, or through credential-based attacks.

BleepingComputer has contacted Microsoft for a comment on the BlueHammer flaw, and a spokesperson sent us the below statement:

“Microsoft has a customer commitment to investigate reported security issues and update impacted devices to protect customers as soon as possible. We also support coordinated vulnerability disclosure, a widely adopted industry practice that helps ensure issues are carefully investigated and addressed before public disclosure, supporting both customer protection and the security research community.” – a Microsoft spokesperson

Article updated on 4/7 to add Microsoft comment

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Handheld console fans have long praised Nintendo’s Switch Lite for its compact size and low price, but many have wished for a variant that included those fancy premium features without sacrificing portability. Fortunately, Tito from Macho Nacho Productions stepped up and created exactly that type of machine through a series of painstaking modifications that transformed a regular Switch Lite into something far more capable.

The parts selection was the foundation of this entire project, since Tito began with Retro Remake’s Super5 OLED kit, which replaces the stock LCD with a high-quality OLED panel with touch capabilities and HDMI output, which no regular Switch Lite has ever had. The Hall effect joysticks came next, and they are meant to prevent stick drift over time. The transition was completed with an aluminum shell machined to ultra-precise specifications, which replaced the original plastic body and gave the console a solid, high-quality build that appears to be from a high-end electronics brand.

Nintendo Switch 2 System

• The next evolution of Nintendo Switch
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Putting it all together was a lot easier than Tito expected, but you’ll need to be familiar with the hardware components to feel comfortable. Once you’ve opened up the casing and removed the original screen and control bits, you simply slot in the new OLED assembly and an HDMI enabled board, and the stick drift-proof Hall effect sticks simply go in the places they were meant to occupy, and then the aluminium shell slams on in with no room for error, using the original screws. If you’ve done something like this previously, the entire procedure takes about an hour, and the finished product appears factory fresh on the outside.

Once you’ve put everything together, the Switch Lite Pro showcases what all of the upgrades can achieve in everyday use. Gamers may now connect the console to a large TV or monitor via normal HDMI and play in docked mode on the big screen, something the base Lite cannot do. The OLED screen has deeper blacks, richer colors, and greater contrast than the LCD it replaced, making the games stand out even in the brightest environments. The touch input allows you to play games that rely on it, while the Hall effect sticks provide silky smooth control that stays precise for years. The aluminum body adds weight and durability without making the device feel clunky, and it stays cool over long sessions thanks to much enhanced heat dissipation.

When compared to the standard Switch Lite, the enhancements make a significant difference. Tito compared the hacked unit to a stock Switch Lite, and the OLED screen was noticeably brighter and more color correct across a variety of titles, even in light surroundings. The blacks are truly black, rather than some dark grey, and the dark scene elements come out. The HDMI output is rock solid at full quality, and switching between handheld and TV modes is a breeze.

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Good morning! Let’s play Connections, the NYT’s clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you’ve finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I’ve also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc’s Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

Early editions of the index were a tabbed notebook. “I still have some of the original versions of it,” Boyer says. “You would go through, laboriously, by hand, turning the pages, and it would say ‘see page 27,’ like one of those find-your-own-ending books, and then you would put in a phone call, because the last section in the Antivenom Index was the home phone numbers of zookeepers.”

In 2006, Boyer and Steven Seifert, then a medical toxicologist at the University of Nebraska, partnered to bring the index online, where it remains today. Now, nearly 90 zoological organizations list their wares.

When Chris Gifford was bitten by his deadly green mamba, he was lucky to receive antivenom from South Carolina’s Riverbanks Zoo.

Courtesy of Chris Gifford

Gifford, the North Carolina man, had been comparatively lucky, as only one of his mamba’s fangs had pierced his skin. By the time he reached a nearby hospital, Gifford’s hand was swelling and creeping paralysis was causing his eyelids to droop. The Antivenom Index was activated, and South Carolina’s Riverbanks Zoo, about 200 miles to the southwest, had the antivenom he needed. Just 30 minutes after the mamba’s bite, Gifford was struggling to breathe as the paralysis started to affect his diaphragm.

“It feels like you’re drowning,” he says.

Keepers at the Riverbanks Zoo packed 10 vials of antivenom on ice and sent them on a helicopter. Just as Gifford’s timer hit the six-hour mark, the hospital began administering the first of the vials. “Almost immediately, I could feel myself breathing,” Gifford says. He left the hospital some two days later.

If you’re bitten by a venomous snake in the northeastern United States, odds are good that you’ll be treated with vials of antivenom nestled in a refrigerator in the back room of the Bronx Zoo’s reptile house. The zoo collaborates with the nearby Jacobi Medical Center, whose dedicated snakebite response team makes it a rarity among US hospitals.

Inside the refrigerator are boxes, bins, and bags of the delicate glass vials that are often the difference between life and death. Shelves are lined with jars full of antivenom for Indian species and the North American coral snake, and lavender cartons with images of a poised king cobra. In all, the Bronx Zoo stocks 25 different antivenom varieties, many of which are polyvalent, meaning applicable to multiple species.

Waymo’s driverless taxis are making their way to London, starting with a pilot this month (April 2026), with a full launch coming in September, but what does that mean for the UK’s capital?

Will the city’s notoriously difficult-to-drive streets become a chaotic mess of robot carnage? Well, hopefully not — in fact, if the London experience is anything like the Waymos I’ve ridden in San Francisco, it might be the Uber replacement you’ve been waiting for.

from the bring-in-the-next-scapegoat! dept

You’re never safe when you’re working for Trump. That much was obvious in Trump’s first term, when he fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, National Security Advisor John Bolton, and FBI Director James Comey. They were all fired for the same reason: failing to be completely loyal to Trump.

This time around even die-hard MAGA loyalists are being fired. DHS head Kristi Noem was dismissed from her position, despite being the enthusiastic figurehead of anti-migrant cruelty Trump definitely wanted in that position. Now, she’s cooling her heels and watching the dust settle on her political hopes as the doesn’t-sound-made-up-at-all “Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas.”

Less than a month later, another head has rolled. This time it’s Pam Bondi, who’s getting fired for failing to do the impossible while still remaining fiercely loyal to the Trump’s lost causes.

In recent weeks, Ms. Bondi tried to shore up her position by moving more aggressively against investigative targets singled out by Mr. Trump, including the former Obama official John O. Brennan and a former White House aide, Cassidy Hutchinson, whom the president has accused of lying about his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, according to officials briefed on the effort.

It is not entirely clear if any specific action or event finally tipped the balance for Mr. Trump, who had been reluctant to fire senior officials to avoid reprising the chaotic turnstile personnel turnover of his first administration.

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But with the dismissal of Ms. Noem and now Ms. Bondi, that might be changing. His calculus appears to have shifted after the quick confirmation of Markwayne Mullin as Ms. Noem’s replacement.

Bondi’s head may have been destined for the chopping block months ago, when Trump (in what appeared to be a personal message accidentally posted on main) berated Bondi for not doing all the impossible stuff he wanted done right now, like engaging in vindictive prosecutions that were (1) obviously vindictive, and (2) didn’t have enough evidence to support the hallucinatory charges dreamed up by Trump and his DOJ enablers.

Nothing has improved since then. Lots of prosecutors have left the DOJ, refusing to engage in Trump’s overt politicization of the department. Others have been dismissed for the same reason. A handful of handpicked prosecutors have been sidelined by judges because they were never formally appointed. And grand juries are frequently refusing to buy what the government’s selling, terminating prosecutions before they can even get off the ground.

Not that we should expect anything better (or more ethical) from her replacement. Todd Blanche is a true Trump loyalist. But he’s taking over a DOJ that’s short on experience, long on MAGA loyalty, and whose reputation has been completely destroyed by this administration and its actions.

The stuff Bondi failed to get done will continue to not happen. Anyone stepping into this position should know it’s only going to be temporary. The president who thinks he’s a king will continue to see courts stifle his worst impulses. Changing the name on the letterhead isn’t suddenly going to make vindictive, politically motivated prosecutions any more legal or feasible.

But I don’t have any sympathy for anyone being shit-canned for failing to satisfy the whims of a megalomaniac who thinks he’s a king, rather than a temporarily elevated politician. They’re far more than merely complicit. They’re fully supportive of destroying America and its institutions to usher in a new age of white Christian nationalism. So, fuck ’em. They got what they deserved.

Filed Under: doj, epstein files, failure, pam bondi, todd blanche, trump administration, vindictive prosecution