SharePoint Proves an Attack Vector: Microsoft Stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) Slips

Security issues are nothing new to tech giant Microsoft MSFT -1.02% ▼ . Since it is one of the primary sources from which people generate content, it is also one of the most ready sources of information. New reports say that Microsoft’s SharePoint system is also proving to be a weapon in hackers’ hands. This did not sit well with shareholders, who sent shares down modestly in Thursday afternoon’s trading.

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The reports note that a critical vulnerability in SharePoint that Microsoft had patched back in January is actually now potentially useful to staging attacks. The flaw in question was found in SharePoint Server Subscription Edition, SharePoint Server 2019, and SharePoint Enterprise Server 2016. Interestingly, several other SharePoint editions are currently at end-of-support status, so they are not receiving security updates, yet are still vulnerable.

Using the attack gives “threat actors” the ability to use remote code execution on servers without patches that “…exploit a deserialization of untrusted data weakness.” The weakness has not yet been exploited in the field, reports note, but the CISA has added the flaw to a file of actively exploited vulnerabilities regardless.

A Japanese Expansion

Microsoft’s Xbox, meanwhile, has not always done well in Japan. In a bid to stop leaving so much money on the table, Microsoft is planning to hire a regional director for its ID@XBOX platform in Japan. Reports suggest that Microsoft’s game console is actually starting to catch on in Japan, and this is a sign that Microsoft may want to keep the momentum going.

Xbox has landed some of the biggest titles in the Japanese sphere, but there are plenty of indie titles that are going unnoticed, and not showing up on Xbox. Since the ID@XBOX platform is heavily focused on indie titles, this new position will help shore up some of those losses and bring more games to Xbox.

Is Microsoft a Buy, Hold or Sell?

Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on MSFT stock based on 33 Buys and three Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 1.28% rally in its share price over the past year, the average MSFT price target of $591.56 per share implies 52.46% upside potential.

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