Google discloses details of a critical Windows bug

New York: In a bid to protect users, Google has disclosed details about a critical Windows bug that affects Windows kernel, an integral part of the operating system.

The internet giant said it reported the bug to Microsoft 10 days ago but the company has done nothing to address the issue publicly.

The Windows vulnerability is a local privilege escalation in the Windows kernel that can be used as a security sandbox escape.

"This vulnerability is particularly serious because we know it is being actively exploited," Google said in a blog post on Monday.

Google said it has already deployed a fix to protect Chrome users, but Windows is still vulnerable.

"We encourage users to verify that auto-updaters have already updated Flash and to manually update if not and to apply Windows patches from Microsoft when they become available for the Windows vulnerability," the blog post added.