A few hours ago, Microsoft released the latest build in the Windows 11 Dev channel. The new build, 25276, adds some new features to the task manager, and redesigns the dialog boxes. However, as always, new internal builds often reveal what Microsoft has up its sleeves and what its plans are for future Windows updates.
Interestingly, it appears that Microsoft plans to retire the Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool.MSDT) two years from now in 2025. Twitter user and Stardock engineer Rafael Rivera noticed the change in the latest build 25276.
MSDT has, in recent years, been abused by threat actors because it can be used to drive remote code execution (RCE). Last year, two vulnerabilities, Folina and Dogwalk, were discovered by security researchers, one of which received an unofficial patch.
That’s right around when Windows 12 is expected to be released, which is sometime in 2024 as the company has apparently gone back to a three-year cadence. So it will probably be a welcome change from the security side of Windows 12 if MSDT goes away.
