Skip the navigation
)
News

Microsoft's holiday bonus: Fixes for 40 flaws

Ships record number of updates, patches critical IE bugs, flaws exploitable through rivals' browsers

December 14, 2010 04:12 PM ET

Computerworld - Microsoft today patched 40 vulnerabilities in Windows, Internet Explorer (IE), Office, SharePoint and Exchange, including nine pegged "critical."

Five of the 17 security updates -- Microsoft calls them "bulletins" -- fixed long-standing flaws that could be used by attackers to plant malware on a PC by tricking Windows into thinking a malicious DLL (dynamic link library) was actually a legitimate part of the OS.

Only two of the 17 updates were judged critical, Microsoft's top-most threat ranking in its four-step scoring system. Another 14 were marked "important," the second-highest rating, while the remaining update was labeled "moderate."

Microsoft put the spotlight on the two critical bulletins, as did several security experts.

"Both MS10-090 and MS10-091 are pretty critical, I think," said Andrew Storms, director of security operations for nCircle Security. "Microsoft's evaluation seems in line with what I would expect, and shows that they're giving a pretty fair and balanced representation of priorities."

Amol Sarwate, manager of Qualys' vulnerabilities research labs, agreed with Storms, putting those updates at the top of his list, too.

MS10-090 patches seven vulnerabilities in IE, six of them critical and one marked moderate. All supported versions, including 2009's IE8, are affected by one or more of the bugs. IE9, which is still in beta testing, does not harbor any of the seven vulnerabilities, Microsoft said in its advisory.

Among the patched IE bugs were three that had been publicly disclosed before today, and one that hackers have been exploiting for at least the last six weeks.

Microsoft confirmed the latter on Nov. 3 in a security advisory, but was unable to craft and test a patch in time to make it into that month's security update.

MS10-091, which in Microsoft's eyes is a Windows update, also affected browsers -- but not IE directly.

Instead, attackers could exploit the three vulnerabilities in the update -- all rated critical -- through non-Microsoft browsers that support the open-source OpenType font format by simply tricking users into visiting a malicious site.

Microsoft did not list the affected browsers, but the other four of the top five -- Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Opera -- all support OpenType fonts.

It's unclear today whether those browsers need to be patched separately, and if so whether they have been patched. For its part, Microsoft said it had reached out to the other browser makers to let them know about the OpenType bugs it was addressing.

Opera Software, whose security team co-reported one of the three OpenType vulnerabilities to Microsoft, said that other browsers did not need repair.

"The patch for Opera is the referenced Microsoft [MS10-091] patch, as it is not possible for the [browser] to protect itself against the problem, except by disabling webfonts, since the problem is in the OS's handling of fonts," said Thomas Ford, an Opera spokesman.



What is Tech Briefcase?
TechBriefcase is a new, free service where IT Professionals can Search, Store and Share IT white papers and content like this. Learn more
Bookmark content
Speed up your research efforts with content across the web.
Search and Store
Find the white papers you need. Create folders for any topic.
View Anywhere
Open your briefcase on your iPhone, tablet or desktop. Share with colleagues.
Don't have an account yet?
Additional Resources
Security KnowledgeVault
WHITE PAPER
Security is not an option. This KnowledgeVault Series offers professional advice how to be proactive in the fight against cybercrimes and multi-layered security threats; how to adopt a holistic approach to protecting and managing data; and how to hire a qualified security assessor. Make security your Number 1 priority.

Read now.

Cut Communications Costs Once and for All
WHITE PAPER
New IP-based communications systems are being deployed by small and midsized businesses at a rapid rate. Learn how these organizations are enabling faster responsiveness, creating better customer experiences, speeding office or mobile interactions, and dramatically reducing existing communications costs.

Read now.

Security White Papers
Driving Secure Enterprise File Sharing and Syncing in the Enterprise
GroupLogic's new activEcho is the industry's only secure Enterprise File Sharing and Synching solution that balances the need for simplicity for the end...
The Enterprise File Sharing Option
Enterprises and IT departments need to address several critical security issues when considering file sharing and syncing products. Many of today's solutions do...
Security Strategies to Virtualizing Internet-Facing Applications
The IT organization at Intel has set a goal to transition their enterprise to a private cloud for their Office and Enterprise applications....
Cloud Security Planning Guide
Cloud security considerations span protecting hardware and platform technologies in the data center to enabling regulatory compliance and defending cloud access through different...
Cloud Security Vendor Round Table
This vendor round table guide will help you to evaluate different cloud technology vendors and service providers based on a series of questions...
All Security White Papers
Security Webcasts
Live Webcast
Data Privacy and Protection in Production Environments: New Research from Ponemon Institute
Date: Wednesday, June 13, 2012, 1:00 PM EDT / 10:00 AM PDT

In a recent study conducted by Ponemon Institute, fifty-five percent of respondents...
Data Privacy and Protection in Production Environments: New Research from Ponemon Institute
Date: Wednesday, June 13, 2012, 1:00 PM EDT / 10:00 AM PDT

In a recent study conducted by Ponemon Institute, fifty-five percent of respondents...
Security Certifications 101 - BlackBerry and all those acronyms what do they mean and why they matter?
FIPS, Common Criteria, CAPS, AISEP, NFC, NIST, Fraunhofer SIT, CESG, DSD - these are just some of the government and industry certifications which...
BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 Security Overview
The presentation provides an overview of BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 security capabilities and features, including: BlackBerry® Balance™ technology, BlackBerry® Bridge, data-at-rest protection, and...
BlackBerry NFC Security Overview
The presentation on NFC security will provide an overview of the security protections built into the BlackBerry platform to protect users, application developers...
Playing Defense: Staying on Top of Your Disaster Recovery Game
When it comes to disaster recovery, rapidly growing data volumes, distributed computing models, and new technologies all combine to present an ever-changing playing...
All Security Webcasts
Newsletter Sign-Up

Receive the latest news test, reviews and trends on your favorite technology topics

Choose a newsletter
  1. View all newsletters | Privacy Policy
IT Jobs