The source code for Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating systems has leaked in a massive data dump. According to The Register, someone uploaded 32TB of data to Beta Archive last week. Amongst the code is Microsoft’s Shared Source Kit, which includes the Redmond company’s PnP code, USB and Wi-Fi stacks, and ARM kernel code.
“The Heart of the Operating System”
The “massive trove” of Windows builds includes secret Windows 10 and Windows Server 2003 builds. Pre-release Redstone builds and unreleased 64-bit ARM iterations of Windows 10 also leaked. The data potentially exposes a plethora of Windows exploits. The Register’s Chris Williams reports:
“Anyone who has this information can scour it for security vulnerabilities, which could be exploited to hack Windows systems worldwide. The code runs at the heart of the operating system, at some of its most trusted levels. It is supposed to be for Microsoft, hardware manufacturers, and select customers’ eyes only.”
32TB?
Beta Archive owner Andrew Whyman, though, refutes the details of The Register’s report. According to Whyman, the size of the data dump reported by The Register is erroneous. He adds that the offending code is no longer on the site. Whyman wrote on the Beta Archive forums:
“The “Shared Source Kit” folder did exist on the FTP until this article came to light. We have removed it from our FTP and listings pending further review just in case we missed something in our initial release. We currently have no plans to restore it until a full review of its contents is carried out and it is deemed acceptable under our rules.
The folder itself was 1.2GB in size, contained 12 releases each being 100MB. This is far from the claimed “32TB” as stated in The Register’s article, and cannot possibly cover “core source code” as it would be simply too small, not to mention it is against our rules to store such data.”
Source Code Leak – Microsoft Says
Though the details are in dispute, Microsoft confirmed the leak. A Microsoft spokesperson told The Verge:
“Our review confirms that these files are actually a portion of the source code from the Shared Source Initiative and is used by OEMs and partners.”
