Just days after Microsoft Corp. patched a critical vulnerability in the way the Windows operating system renders certain types of graphics files, a hacker has published details of two new flaws that affect the same part of the operating system.
The new vulnerabilities were posted to the Bugtraq security mailing list on Monday by a hacker going by the name of "cocoruder." (http://msgs.securepoint.com/cgi-bin/get/bugtraq0601/90.html)
All three flaws concern the way Windows renders images in the Windows Metafile (WMF) format used by some CAD (computer-aided design) applications, but these latest flaws are far less serious than the vulnerability that Microsoft patched last week, according to security experts. That vulnerability was serious enough to cause Microsoft to take the unusual step of releasing an early patch to the problem, ahead of its monthly security software update.
While the patched flaw was being exploited by attackers to take control of Windows machines, the latest vulnerabilities appear to pose the risk of simply crashing the WMF-viewing software, typically Internet Explorer. However, users would first need to trick a victim into viewing a specially crafted WMF image in order for this to happen, security experts say.
The vulnerabilities can be found in a number of versions of Windows, including Windows XP, Service Pack 2, Windows Server 2003, Service Pack 1, and Windows 2000, Service Pack 4, according to cocoruder's Bugtraq posting.
Because of the inherent complexity of image formats, there are plenty of opportunities for attackers to find bugs similar to the two that were revealed Monday, said Russ Cooper, senior information security analyst for Cybertrust Inc.
Cooper said that the new WMF vulnerabilities are not a major cause of concern. "New malformed images that simply crash things aren't really that important unless they can be shown to cause code to execute," he said via instant message. "This is only getting any attention because its WMF and Microsoft just released a WMF patch."
Johannes Ullrich, chief research officer for the SANS Institute, (http://isc.sans.org/diary.php?rss&storyid=1031) agreed that these type of image problems are fairly common, but he said that the fact that so many WMF vulnerabilities have popped up of late -- Microsoft fixed three other WMF bugs in November -- indicates that the software vendor could be doing a better job of predicting where its security problems might lie.
Microsoft should have been able to catch these latest flaws and fix them with its November patch, Ullrich said. "They really seem to have a problem thinking offensively," he said of Microsoft. "If you don't really look for these vulnerabilities with this offensive mindset, but if you instead look at it from a programmers perspective ... you just don't find a lot of these things."
"Every month they have one or two image problems they fix," Ullrich added. "It's actually kind of surprising they don't get exploited more."
A spokeswoman from Microsoft was unable to provide comment for this story.
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 Security 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! »
Recommend This
