Windows 10: Windows users, your cropped images may not be private

Have you heard about the recent discovery made by researchers regarding the Pixel's cropping tool? They found out that the tool did not fully remove the data that was deleted and that the deleted portions of the image could still be accessed with some effort.

Now, one of the same researchers has reported that the Snipping Tool for Windows 11 and the Snip & Sketch tool in Windows 10 have a similar vulnerability. This means that the information that users thought they had deleted may still be available on the internet, potentially causing privacy concerns.

David Buchanan, a researcher, has revealed via a tweet that the vulnerability in Microsoft's Snipping Tool can be exploited by taking a screenshot, saving it, cropping it, and saving it again to the same file. This process may leave the deleted data accessible within the file. As per Buchanan, one can use a similar code to the one used for accessing Pixel screenshots to retrieve the data, with minor modifications.

holy FUCK.

Windows Snipping Tool is vulnerable to Acropalypse too.

An entirely unrelated codebase.

The same exploit script works with minor changes (the pixel format is RGBA not RGB)

Tested myself on Windows 11 https://t.co/5q2vb6jWOn pic.twitter.com/ovJKPr0x5Y

— David Buchanan (@David3141593) March 21, 2023
​

It seems that the vulnerability in Microsoft's Snipping Tool is not very widespread. According to Buchanan, the exploit requires a specific sequence of actions involving saving, cropping, and saving again. Therefore, if the initial screenshot only includes a particular part of the screen, the exploit may not work. Although the Snip & Sketch tool in Windows 10 reportedly has the same vulnerability, Buchanan claims that the original Snipping Tool for Windows 10 does not have this issue.

Recently, Buchanan and fellow researcher Simon Aarons had warned about the "acropalypse" vulnerability affecting Pixels, emphasizing that even if this issue gets fixed, the problem does not go away entirely. The images created using the tool might still exist, and the portions that were intended to be cropped out may remain unaltered, leading to privacy concerns.

Introducing acropalypse: a serious privacy vulnerability in the Google Pixel's inbuilt screenshot editing tool, Markup, enabling partial recovery of the original, unedited image data of a cropped and/or redacted screenshot. Huge thanks to @David3141593 for his help throughout! pic.twitter.com/BXNQomnHbr

— Simon Aarons (@ItsSimonTime) March 17, 2023
​

Following the announcement of the "acropalypse" vulnerability, there has been an increased interest in examining other screenshotting tools. Chris Blume, who chairs the working group for the PNG image format that Snipping Tool uses, drew attention to the issue by tweeting that Snipping Tool may not truncate files accurately when overwriting existing images. Blume's tweet was instrumental in Buchanan's discovery of the vulnerability in Snipping Tool.

I've got a fun one for you all to look at.

I opened a 198 byte PNG with Microsoft's Snipping Tool, chose "Save As" to overwrite a different PNG file (no editing), and saves a 4,762 byte file with all that extra after the PNG IEND chunk.

Sounds similar

— Chris Blume (@ProgramMax) March 21, 2023
​

Microsoft is investigating the issue


“We are aware of these reports and are investigating. We will take action as needed to help keep customers protected," stated Microsoft spokesperson Rachel Tougher Withers.



The recent discovery of vulnerabilities in screenshotting tools such as Microsoft's Snipping Tool has once again highlighted the ongoing challenge of maintaining data security in our increasingly digital world. The fact that these tools did not fully remove deleted data indicates the need for increased scrutiny of technology to ensure user privacy.

The warning about the "acropalypse" vulnerability affecting Pixels is a reminder that even seemingly minor issues can have far-reaching consequences. As we continue to rely more and more on technology, it is imperative that we prioritize data security to safeguard sensitive information and ensure that our digital footprints remain protected.

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How to crop image like this...

Your image didn't appear.

 

How to crop image like this...

I would like to know how those kind of pictures are cropped?

I think this can be done differently, but if it can be handle straight into an upload of image and a quick crop to just take the needs would be great.



when reading Blog and technical notes on TechNet, we can see a lot of snapshot/snippet pictures taken by the author. Those pictures a cropped often with a nice border at bottom and on the right side (like the
picture in my question)

I would like to know how this is done...

• Is it a crop after the upload of the pictures
• Is it a tool which is used before image upload
• Is it a JavaScript option...

I think there is many possibilities, but I'm interested to learn how this is done and if we can replicate the process on our own.

 

Getting white edges when cropping in 3D paint

The title says it all. Steps I'm taking:

• Open/Browse/Select an image
• Click Canvas: adjust pixel sizing to as close as I can to my desired pixels - usually this adjusts either height or width to my needs but I need to crop the other.
• Click Crop: crop the image
• File Save

Sometimes, I get a nice clean crop. Other times I get a white edge on one, sometimes 2 sides and it's usually not the side I cropped. So If I crop in from the left, the right has a white edge or sometimes the bottom.

Any tips on how to avoid this?

PS - I tried to add an example file but since this background is white, the white edge isn't viewable.