New Windows 10 bug compromises the built-in ZIP extraction feature

• Windows 10 does not show an overwrite prompt when users extract files to a folder that already contains the files.
• A user may accidentally overwrite a file and have no way of recovering it.

Ever since the latest version of Windows 10 was released on the October 2018 update (build 1809), Windows users have been facing various operational issues. Recently, a vulnerability was in the OS was discovered that affects the inbuilt zip extraction feature in Windows 10.

Earlier, a file-delete bug reportedly deleted user files in the computer without any authentication, leaving users in a crisis. Another bug reported by many users caused a complete loss of audio. Meanwhile, some other users witnessed cases of broken audio, where sound didn’t work while gaming.

Although most of the previously reported bugs were fixed, now, a new zip extracting bug has been discovered that compromises the built-in zip functionality in Windows 10.

No prompt on file extraction

Essentially, when a user extracts files from a zipped file to a folder that already has copies of those files, Windows does not display a prompt. Previously, Windows prompted users about such an operation, enquiring whether users wished to overwrite the files.

With the new update applied, when a user extracts a zip file or drags and drops a file from a zip file to a folder location which contains the same folder, Windows will not display a confirmation prompt. Instead, it automatically overwrites the file or simply does not carry out the file transfer.

While many users in a Reddit thread said that their files are being overwritten, some other users reported that their files were not overwritten and that no actions appeared to be occurring when attempting to transfer files from a zipped file.

Bug fixed

The bug is considered to be critical as it could lead to users accidentally overwriting a file and have no way of recovering. Ronit Sajeey, an IT Staff Engineer at Microsoft on the Windows Insider Program Team said that this bug has been fixed in Windows 10 19H1 build 18234, in a tweet. Users are advised to be more careful while extracting files, as existing files may be automatically replaced without any prompt.