: One common method involves "double-archiving"—putting a ZIP inside another ZIP. When certain versions of 7-Zip extract the inner archive, they fail to propagate the MotW tag to the extracted files.
: This technique has been exploited in the wild by groups to deliver malware like SmokeLoader via phishing campaigns. How to Protect Your System bypass_motw.zip
: Because the extracted files lack the MotW flag, Windows treats them as if they were created locally on your computer. This allows malicious macros or scripts to run without any security prompts. How to Protect Your System : Because the
Security researchers and software vendors recommend the following steps to prevent this type of exploit: Bypassing Mark of the Web with 7zip CVE-2025-0411 This flag triggers warnings and "Protected View" in
Windows uses "Mark of the Web" as a security flag (an NTFS Alternate Data Stream) to label files from untrusted sources, like the internet. This flag triggers warnings and "Protected View" in Microsoft Office to prevent malicious code from running automatically. How the Bypass Works
The specific bypass you are likely referencing involves vulnerabilities in archive tools like or WinZip .