Microsoft Security Bulletin: Critical Windows Vulnerability

October 23, 2008 - Qualys^® Vulnerability R&D Lab has released a new vulnerability check in QualysGuard^® to protect organizations against a new vulnerability present in Microsoft Windows (MS08-067) that was announced today out of the normal announcement schedule. Customers can immediately audit their networks for this and other vulnerabilities by accessing their QualysGuard subscription.

Microsoft has released a security patch to fix a newly discovered flaw in Microsoft Windows Server. This flaw has received considerable attention in the public because of the availability of exploit code in the wild and the potential of its wide spread automated use, prompting Microsoft to publish a patch out of its normal scheduled release period.

Qualys has implemented the following check:

Microsoft Windows Server Service Could Allow Remote Code Execution
SEVERITY: Urgent  5
QUALYS ID: 90464
VENDOR REFERENCE: MS08-067
CVE REFERENCE: CVE-2008-4250
CVSS SCORES: Base 10/ Temporal 7.4
THREAT: The Server service is vulnerable to a remote code execution issue, due to the service improperly handling specially crafted RPC requests. Any anonymous user who can deliver a specially crafted message to the affected system could exploit this vulnerability.
IMPACT: An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could take complete control of the affected system. This vulnerability has the potential to be used in a self propagating worm.
SOLUTION: Refer to Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-067 to address this issue. Microsoft has rated this issue as Critical on all impacted Operating systems, with the exception of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, where it has a rating of Important.

This new vulnerability check is included in Qualys vulnerability signatures v1.22.39-2. Each QualysGuard account is automatically updated with the latest vulnerability signatures as they become available. To view the vulnerability signature version in your account, from the QualysGuard HOME menu, select the Account Info tab.

SELECTIVE SCAN INSTRUCTIONS USING QUALYSGUARD:

To perform a selective vulnerability scan, configure a scan profile to use the following options:

1. Ensure access to TCP ports 135 and 139 are available.
2. Enable Windows Authentication (specify Authentication Records).
3. Enable the following Qualys IDs:
   • 90464
4. If you would like the scan to return the Windows Hostname, also include QID 82044 and ensure access to UDP port 137 is available.
5. If you would like to be notified if QualysGuard is unable to logon to a host (if Authentication fails), also include QID 105015.

In addition, prior to running a scan for these new vulnerabilities, you can estimate your exposure to these new threats by running the Risk Matrix Report, available from the QualysGuard HOME page.

For more information, customers may contact Qualys Technical Support directly at support@qualys.com or by telephone toll free at:
US: 1 866.801.6161 | EMEA: 33 1 44.17.00.41 | UK: +44 1753 872102

QualysGuard is an on-demand security audit service delivered over the web that enables organizations to effectively manage their vulnerabilities and maintain control over their network security with centralized reports, verified remedies, and full remediation workflow capabilities with trouble tickets. QualysGuard provides comprehensive reports on vulnerabilities including severity levels, time to fix estimates and impact on business, plus trend analysis on security issues. By continuously and proactively monitoring all network access points, QualysGuard dramatically reduces security managers' time researching, scanning and fixing network exposures and enables companies to eliminate network vulnerabilities before they can be exploited.

Access for QualysGuard customers: https://qualysguard.qualys.com

Free trial of QualysGuard service: http://www.qualys.com/forms/trials/qualysguard_trial/