Microsoft Security Bulletin: January 14

January 14, 2010 - Qualys^® Vulnerability R&D Lab has released new vulnerability checks in QualysGuard^® to protect organizations against 1 vulnerability present in Microsoft Windows that was announced today. Customers can immediately audit their networks for these and other new vulnerabilities by accessing their QualysGuard subscription.

Microsoft has released 1 security patches to fix newly discovered flaws in Microsoft Windows.

Qualys has released the following checks for these new vulnerabilities:

Microsoft Internet Explorer Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (KB979352) - Zero Day
SEVERITY: Critical  4
QUALYS ID: 100078
VENDOR REFERENCE: KB979352
CVE REFERENCE: CVE-2010-0249
CVSS SCORES: Base 7.5/ Temporal 6.4
THREAT: Microsoft Internet Explorer is a Web browser for Microsoft Windows. Microsoft Internet Explorer is prone to a remote execution vulnerability. The vulnerability exists as an invalid pointer reference within internet Explorer. It is possible under certain conditions for the invalid pointer to be accessed after an object is deleted. Affected Software: Internet Explorer 6,7 and 8 for Windows XP, Windows Server 2003,Windows Vista, Windows 2008 Server, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. Non Affected Software: Internet Explorer 5.01 Service Pack 4 for Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4.
IMPACT: In a specially-crafted attack, in attempting to access a freed object, Internet Explorer can be caused to allow remote code execution.
SOLUTION: Patch: There are no vendor-supplied patches available at this time. Refer to Microsoft Security Advisory (979352) to obtain additional details about this vulnerability. Workarounds: - Set Internet and Local intranet security zone settings to "High" to prompt before running ActiveX Controls and Active Scripting - Configure Internet Explorer to prompt before running Active Scripting or to disable Active Scripting in the Internet and Local intranet security zone - Enable DEP for Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 2 or Internet Explorer 7. See Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 979352 to use the automated Microsoft Fix it solution to enable or disable this workaround. Refer to the advisory to obtain additional details on applying the workarounds.

This new vulnerability check is included in Qualys vulnerability signatures v1.24.102-3. 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:
   • 100078
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/