DirectX flaws put Windows systems at risk, Microsoft warns

'Critical' holes are widespread

By Joris Evers, IDG News Service

July 24, 2003 12:00 PM ET

IDG News Service - Two security bugs in DirectX, a part of the Windows operating system that provides multimedia support, could allow an attacker to gain control over computers running it, Microsoft Corp. warned yesterday.
The flaw is in the way DirectX checks Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) music files, Microsoft said in Security Bulletin MS03-030. An attacker could take advantage of the flaws by hosting a specially crafted MIDI file on a Web site or sending that file in an HTML e-mail, the company said.
DirectX is part of most currently supported versions of Windows, including Windows 98, Windows XP and Windows 2000. Exceptions are Windows NT 4.0 and Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server Edition, which are vulnerable only if Windows Media Player 6.4 or Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1 is installed, Microsoft said.
Versions of DirectX from 5.2 up to 9.0a are affected, according to Microsoft. Patches to fix the problem are available on Microsoft's security Web site, as is DirectX 9.0b, a new version of the software that includes the security fix, Microsoft said. The DirectX flaw is rated "critical," which means that customers are urged to install the patch immediately.
Microsoft issued two other security bulletins, MS03-031 and MS03-029. These bulletins warn of less serious flaws in several SQL Server database products and in Windows NT 4.0 Server.

Reprinted with permission from

IDG.net
Story copyright 2009 International Data Group. All rights reserved.

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