A cybersecurity researcher has discovered a new method to exploit Windows Out-of-Box Experience (OOBE) that circumvents Microsoft’s existing security protections, potentially allowing unauthorized users to gain administrative privileges during the initial setup process.
This discovery reveals that previous mitigation efforts by Microsoft have proven insufficient, leaving enterprise environments vulnerable to privilege escalation attacks.
Traditional Exploit Method Still Poses Risks
The Windows OOBE vulnerability has long been a concern for IT administrators, primarily through the well-documented Shift + F10 keyboard shortcut exploit.
This technique allows users to spawn an elevated command prompt during the initial Windows setup process, running under the context of “defaultuser0” – a temporary administrative account created during OOBE installation.
The implications of this vulnerability are particularly significant in enterprise environments where employees can initiate a factory reset through Microsoft Intune’s Company Portal.
Once the reset is complete, users can exploit the OOBE process to create backdoor administrator accounts, modify system settings, or install malicious software with elevated privileges.
Microsoft previously attempted to address this security concern by allowing administrators to disable the Shift + F10 shortcut through the creation of a file called DisableCMDRequest.tag in the Windows Setup Scripts directory.
However, this protection mechanism has now been proven inadequate against alternative exploitation methods.
New Bypass Technique Discovered Using Win + R Shortcut
The newly discovered exploitation method leverages the Windows + R keyboard combination to launch the Run dialog during OOBE, effectively bypassing Microsoft’s DisableCMDRequest.tag protection.
This technique requires users to first open an accessibility tool like Magnifier, then use the Win + R shortcut to spawn a hidden Run dialog in the background.
While the Run dialog remains invisible, users can reveal its presence using Alt + Tab to switch between windows.
By typing “cmd.exe” and pressing Ctrl + Shift + Enter, the system launches an elevated command prompt after accepting a User Account Control (UAC) prompt.
This method grants the same administrative privileges as the traditional Shift + F10 exploit, but operates independently of Microsoft’s existing protection measures.
The researcher noted that this elevated shell, though running in the background, remains fully functional and allows complete system manipulation.
The exploit works consistently even when the DisableCMDRequest.tag file is present, demonstrating the incomplete nature of Microsoft’s current security implementation.
Microsoft has declined to treat this as a security vulnerability, stating that OOBE inherently runs in an administrative session and comparing leaving a device unattended during setup to leaving a machine unlocked.
The company has classified this as a “won’t-fix” issue, placing the responsibility on organizations to implement proper access controls.
IT administrators are advised to hide the reset button from users in the Microsoft Intune Company Portal to prevent unauthorized OOBE access.
This can be configured through the Microsoft Intune admin center under Tenant Administration and Customization settings by enabling the “Hide reset button on corporate Windows devices” option.
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