Qualys Vulnerability R&D Lab has released new vulnerability checks in the Qualys Cloud Platform to protect organizations against 3 vulnerabilities that were fixed in 2 bulletins announced today by Microsoft. Customers can immediately audit their networks for these and other new vulnerabilities by accessing their Qualys subscription. Visit Qualys Security Blog to prioritize remediation.
Non-Qualys customers can audit their network for these and other vulnerabilities by signing up for a Qualys Free Trial, or by trying Qualys Community Edition.
Microsoft has released 2 security bulletins to fix newly discovered flaws in their software. Qualys has released the following checks for these new vulnerabilities:
A remote code execution vulnerability is caused when the Windows Backup Manager incorrectly restricts the path used for loading external libraries.
Microsoft has released a security update that addresses the vulnerability by correcting the manner in which Windows Backup Manager loads external libraries.
The security update is rated Important for all supported editions of Windows Vista.
Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows Vista Service Pack 2
Windows Vista x64 Edition Service Pack 1 and Windows Vista x64 Edition Service Pack 2
Refer to Microsoft Security Bulletin MS11-001 for further details.
Workarounds:
1) Disable loading of libraries from WebDAV and remote network shares. Refer to Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 2264107 for further information.
2) Disable the WebClient service to help protect affected systems from attempts to exploit the vulnerability by blocking the most likely remote attack vector through the Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) client service.
Impact of workaround #2: When the WebClient service is disabled, Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) requests are not transmitted.
3) Block TCP ports 139 and 445 at the firewall
Impact of workaround #3: Several Windows services use the affected ports. Blocking connectivity to the ports may cause various applications or services to not function.
Further information on enabling and disabling the workarounds can be found at Microsoft Security Bulletin MS11-001.
A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way that Microsoft Data Access Components validates third-party API usage. This vulnerability could allow code execution if a user visits a specially-crafted Web page. (CVE-2011-0026)
A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way that Microsoft Data Access Components validates memory allocation. This vulnerability could allow code execution if a user visits a specially-crafted Web page. (CVE-2011-0027)
Microsoft has released a security update that addresses these vulnerabilities by ensuring that MDAC correctly validates string length and memory allocation.
This security update is rated Critical for all supported editions of Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7, and Important for all supported editions of Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2008 R2.
Windows Embedded Systems:- For additional information regarding security updates for embedded systems, refer to the following MSDN blog(s):
January 2011 Security Updates for XPe and Standard 2009 Runtimes Are Now Available on ECE (KB2451910, 2451910)
Windows XP Service Pack 3 (Microsoft Data Access Components 2.8 Service Pack 1)
Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (Microsoft Data Access Components 2.8 Service Pack 2)
Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition Service Pack 2 (Microsoft Data Access Components 2.8 Service Pack 2)
Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (Windows Data Access Components 6.0)
Windows 7 for 32-bit Systems (Windows Data Access Components 6.0)
For a complete list of patch download links, please refer to Microsoft Security Bulletin MS11-002.
Workarounds:
1) Set Internet and Local intranet security zone settings to "High" to prompt before running ActiveX Controls and Active Scripting
2) Configure Internet Explorer to prompt before running Active Scripting or to disable Active Scripting in the Internet and Local intranet security zone
Impact of workarounds #1 and #2:
On visiting Web sites on the Internet or Intranet that use ActiveX or Active Scripting to provide additional functionality, you will be prompted frequently when you enable this workaround.
3) Disable the ActiveX Data Objects (ADO) DLL
Impact of workaround #3: Disabling the ActiveX Data Objects (ADO) DLL will break MDAC functionality.
These new vulnerability checks are included in Qualys vulnerability signature 1.27.150-3. Each Qualys account is automatically updated with the latest vulnerability signatures as they become available. To view the vulnerability signature version in your account, from the Qualys Help menu, select the About tab.
To perform a selective vulnerability scan, configure a scan profile to use the following options:
In addition, prior to running a scan for these new vulnerabilities, you can estimate your exposure to these new threats by running the Risk Analysis Report, available from the Qualys Vulnerability Management Reports tab.
Platforms and Platform Identification
For more information, customers may contact Qualys Technical Support.
The Qualys Cloud Platform and its integrated suite of security and compliance applications provides organizations of all sizes with a global view of their security and compliance solutions, while drastically reducing their total cost of ownership. Qualys solutions include: continuous monitoring, vulnerability management, policy compliance, PCI compliance, security assessment questionnaire, web application scanning, web application firewall, malware detection and SECURE Seal for security testing of web sites.