Steam Windows Client Local Privilege Escalation 0day
I wouldn't be surprised if this is for backwards compatibility with older games (the linked twitter "exploit" is certainly due to many games writing files in their own folders) and avoiding the need to show the UAC prompt when installing dependencies (VC++ runtimes, etc) in many newer games - especially if you take into consideration Steam's Big Picture mode and that it needs to be usable with a controller (though perhaps the Steam Controller can also function as a regular desktop mouse, assuming it doesn't rely on Steam itself to move the cursor around - which may not work when the UAC prompt is shown - and on the other hand some older games <i>do</i> need to run as Administrator and/or a compatibility mode that shows a UAC prompt, so perhaps SC can work with that).<p>BTW...<p>> Are you sure that a free game made of garbage by an unknown developer will behave honestly? Do you believe that for a 90% discount you will not get a hidden miner?<p>...beyond this being FUD, games do not need to run with Adminstrator privileges to put hidden miners and even if they did, all they'll need to do is simply... show the UAC prompt. So many things show it that people will accept it anyway, especially when they're trying to start a game. But more importantly, such a game will be removed instantly from Steam and thus wont spread much while the developer could be sued (before publishing anything on Steam you have to give them your full details) making the entire endeavor not worth the effort.<p>Though of course this issue can be taken advantage of outside of Steam.