Zoom patches screen sharing flaw that could let attackers take over devices

In short: Zoom has fixed security flaws that researchers say could have let someone on a call silently take over another person’s device during screen sharing.

What happened

Researchers at a digital defense firm called A Security disclosed vulnerabilities in Zoom that could have been used to hijack a participant’s device. They said the attack could happen during a call that used screen sharing, with no warning signs and no clicks needed from the victim.

The researchers say they found the flaws in early June using publicly available AI models. They also said it took fewer than 20 prompts, meaning fewer than 20 back and forth instructions to the AI, to find the weakness and build a working attack.

The problem was tied to Zoom’s real-time annotation feature during screen sharing. Annotation is the tool that lets people draw or write on a shared screen, like using a marker on a whiteboard (except it is on your screen). Zoom issued a security bulletin on Tuesday and said it has started rolling out fixes on both Zoom’s servers and the Zoom apps people use on their devices, including Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android.

Why it matters

Video calls are often treated as a trusted space, especially at work and in online events. This report is a reminder that even familiar features, like drawing on a shared screen, can become an entry point for attackers. It also shows how AI tools can lower the time and effort needed to find software flaws, which can put more pressure on companies to patch problems quickly.

Source: Wired