11/11/03 microsoft releases security patches

http://www.eweek.com/ microsoft Issues Security Patches
By Dennis Fisher
November 11, 2003


Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday issued patches for several severe security flaws in Windows, Internet Explorer, FrontPage Server Extensions and some Office applications, many of which allow for remote code execution.

Hardest hit in this month's batch of patches is IE, which contains five newly discovered vulnerabilities. Three of the flaws are related to the cross-domain security model in the browser. This mechanism is meant to prevent windows in different domains from sharing information. However, these weaknesses allow an attacker to run script in the browser's My Computer zone, which typically does not carry the same level of security as the Internet zone might.

In order to exploit this flaw, the attacker would either need to entice the user into visiting a malicious Web site or opening an HTML mail message containing the attack code. This would let the attacker access data from other Web sites that the user has visited and read files on the user's machine, Microsoft said in its bulletin.

Another flaw in IE concerns the manner in which the browser passes zone data to XML objects. Like the other three vulnerabilities, this one also can be exploited via Web sites and HTML mail messages. However, the attack also requires that users agree to download an HTML file, which would let the attacker read local files on the user's machine, if he knows the exact location of the files.

The final weakness in IE affects drag-and-drop operations during dynamic HTML events. If a user clicked on a link supplied by an attacker, the attacker could save a file on a user's machine in an arbitrary location. All of these flaws affect IE 5.01, 5.5 and 6, including IE 6, Service Pack 1.

The batch of patches also addresses a buffer overrun flaw in Windows 2000 and XP that could allow an attacker to run arbitrary code on remote machines. The vulnerability is in the Workstation service in Windows and a successful exploitation would give the attacker complete control of the compromised PC, Microsoft said.

Windows XP users who have installed the patch for MS03-043 are already protected against this vulnerability, but all Windows 2000 users would still need to apply this latest patch.

Microsoft also issued patches for security flaws in Word 97, 98, 2000 and 2002 and Excel 97, 2000 and 2002. The Excel issue relates to the way that the application checks spreadsheets before reading macros. An attacker could write a malicious macro and embed it in an Excel spreadsheet, which if opened by the user, would bypass the macro security settings and execute automatically. The macro would then be able to take any action on the user's PC.

The weakness in Word results because the application incorrectly checks the length of macros embedded in Word documents. An attacker could exploit this by creating a malicious document that would overflow a data value in Word and execute arbitrary code.

There are also two new vulnerabilities in Microsoft's FrontPage Server Extensions. The flaws affect 2000, 2002 and SharePoint Team Services 2002.

The first flaw is a buffer overrun in the remote debug function. An exploitation of this flaw would let an attacker run code with Local System privileges. The second vulnerability is a denial-of-service condition in the SmartHTML interpreter in FrontPage Server Extensions.

The patches are at Microsoft's Security and Privacy Page.

 

Monthly Microsoft Security Advisories (3 critical, 1 important)

FYI...more detail and links:

- Rated Critical:
MS03-048 Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/?url=/technet/security/bulletin/MS03-048.asp
MS03-049 Buffer Overrun in the Workstation Service
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/?url=/technet/security/bulletin/MS03-049.asp
MS03-051 Buffer Overrun in FrontPage Server Extensions Could Allow Code Execution
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/?url=/technet/security/bulletin/MS03-051.asp

- Rated Important:
MS03-050 Vulnerability in Word and Excel Could Allow Arbitrary Code to Run
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/?url=/technet/security/bulletin/MS03-050.asp

LWM - Fixed the link to MS03-051 (it was pointing at MS03-050 also).

 

Attack code surfaces for latest Windows hole

FYI...

Attack code surfaces for latest Windows holes
http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/11/17/HNattackcode_1.html
November 17, 2003
"...Computer code that exploits a critical new software vulnerability in the Windows XP and Windows 2000 operating systems is circulating on the Internet, according to security experts...The Workstation Service vulnerability was disclosed by Microsoft Corp. in Security Bulletin MS03-049, which was released on November 11. The service is turned "on" by default in Windows 2000 and Windows XP systems and allows computers on a network to connect to file servers and network printers.."

 

i hav downloaded and installed MS03 -048 and 049 i hav one question .. i use win2k pro service pack 4 but use office XP .. so shud i need 050 and 051??

 

i am still waiting eagerly....

 

ya i kno MS03 -050 depends upon office version ..its given that u need for word 2000 excel 2000 but i hav office XP not office 2000
so thats y i asked do i need 050 too?

 

i ran office update in my computer.. it said i dont need those security patches as those are for office service pack 2... they recommended me office service pack 1 update and another security patch .. one more thing i installed IE patch given above all the files are extracted and copied in windows folder.. and the add remove program shows internet explorer q824145 ... is that all rite and completely installed?

 

Microsoft word 2002 (10.2627.2625)
version 10 build 2627
can u plz send me the office service pack.exe coz its really to big a file 40 MB approx to download now and then again service pack 2... anyway whatever u say i will do

 

WaterMark ?? u thr

 

i apologise first but i wasnt intending to bump my posts i had to go off for sometime so i thought i wud put the latest informations from my side...
water you are a cool man... you remembered .. i leave my computer 24 hrs ya mostly i do.. i was just enquiring if thrs any provision for gettin .exe direct ..its ok.. i have already started downloading hey water i am gettin PC-Cillin 2004 internet security... can you give your opinion about that.. just what you think about it..
i stay awake most of nites and get messages from TDS-3 (working late night... good morning i will have bacons for breakfast )
it feels nice being part of wilders... you all are friends first than anything else

 

wilders,
i admit its for other forum... i was just asking for a opinion... anyway i will abide by the rules wat u said
thx for kind advice