After releasing its largest-ever group of security patches two weeks ago, Microsoft has done a little cleaning up.
Over the past few days, the company has re-released two security updates and issued a work-around for a Windows CryptoAPI patch that caused Microsoft's own instant-messaging server to crash.
[ Learn how to secure your systems with Roger Grimes' Security Adviser blog and Security Central newsletter, both from InfoWorld. ]
"This is the patch month that will not die," said Susan Bradley, chief technology officer with Tamiyasu, Smith, Horn and Braun, an accountancy. She added that the Communicator issue was "a big one to miss," because Microsoft is usually careful about testing its security updates with its own products.
Scott Turner, network systems administrator with the Public Health Institute in Sacramento, Calif., noticed the bug immediately after installing Microsoft's updates. "We deployed the patch," he said. "When I came in the next day, nobody could connect" to Communicator.
According to a support article on Microsoft's Web site, the MS09-056 update disables several services that Communications Server needs in order to operate. The bug affects Live Communications Server 2005, Office Communications Server 2007, and evaluation versions of Office Communicator 2007.
Microsoft has released a work-around for the problem, but Turner hasn't yet been able to try it out. He's had to disable the MS09-056 update in the meantime to get his company's Communicator users up and running.
Another buggy patch fixed over the past few days was the MS09-043 Office update, first released back in August. This was apparently misconfigured so that customers who use Microsoft update tools such as Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) were given bad scan results. Customers who use Microsoft's tools may believe they're fully patched, when in fact they're not due to this bug, said Eric Schultze, an independent security consultant.
Those customers should rerun their update tools to be sure that they're patched, he added.
The issue affects customers who are running the Microsoft Office Access Runtime 2003, but not any Office products, a Microsoft spokesman said via e-mail. "Essentially, the security update installer detection logic was updated to include an uncommon scenario, where a customer only installed the Microsoft Office Access Runtime 2003 without fully installing the Office 2003 suite or other individual Office 2003 products. Those who are running in this scenario should apply the re-released bulletin immediately.”
Microsoft said it also corrected some "detection entries" and "file and registry key verification information" in an update to the MS09-062 patch, released Wednesday.
Get the independent advice and expertise you need to support a virtual workforce.
The increase in Linux popularity has increased the frequency and sophistication of malware attacks. Read this 2 page white paper now to learn how you can protect your Linux environment with real-time protection that is certified by all major Linux vendors.
Download now »
Ensuring acceptable application delivery will become even more difficult over the next few years. As a result, IT organizations need to ensure that the approach that they take to resolving the current application delivery challenges can scale to support the emerging challenges. This handbook elaborates on the key tasks associated with planning, optimization, management and control and provides decision criteria to help IT organizations choose appropriate solutions.
Download now »
A common misconception is that mid-range storage requirements are dramatically different than that of a larger enterprise. Mid-range storage users may require less capacity, but they have similar functionality and management requirements. This ESG paper examines mid-range storage needs and reviews a new solution that adjusts size while retaining value, performance and functionality.
Download now »
Sign up to receive InfoWorld Resource Alerts
This white paper provides guidance on how to develop a strategic approach to managing and monitoring logs, a key function required for compliance with many regulatory mandates and a critical defense against security threats.
Download now! »
Learn about the processes and technologies that support security information management (SIM) operations, as well as the business case for SIM. The series examines different options for implementing SIM and gives you evaluation criteria for selecting the best option for your organization.
Download now! »
Learn the strategies, actions, and capabilities that Best-in-Class organizations employ and technologies they choose to obtain superior performance against various security performance metrics. This report provides guidelines for identifying which security solutions to consume as a MSS and defines best practices for choosing and managing MSSPs.
Download now! »
16 Recommendations
