A patch is available for a vulnerability in 7-Zip that could have allowed attackers to bypass the Mark-of-the-Web (MotW) security feature in Windows.
The MotW is an attribute added to files by Windows when they have been sourced from an untrusted location, like the internet or a restricted zone. The MotW is what triggers warnings that opening or running such files could lead to potentially dangerous behavior, including installing malware on their devices.
7-Zip added support for MotW in June 2022.
The MotW also makes sure that Office documents that are marked with the MotW will be opened in Protected View, which automatically enables read-only mode and means that all macros will be disabled until the user allows them.
