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Microsoft Quietly Patches First Tuesday In ‘09
SecurityProNews
Staff Writer
2009-01-13
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Microsoft followed up last month's dramatic, record-breaking Patch Tuesday with a much quieter one this time, releasing a single security bulletin addressing three vulnerabilities in Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003.
 | | Microsoft Quietly Patches First Tuesday In '09 |  |
Deemed critical, the patch addresses vulnerabilities allowing possible remote coded execution that could allow a computer takeover.
"In a worst case scenario an anonymous attacker who successfully exploited these vulnerabilities could remotely gain complete control over a vulnerable system, without any action on the side of the user" said Dave Marcus, security research and communications director at McAfee Avert Labs. "In the past, these types of vulnerabilities have been exploited in worm attacks."
All of the vulnerabilities are in Microsoft Server Message Block (SMB) Protocol, a network file sharing protocol used in Windows. McAfee says an attacker could exploit a vulnerability by sending a network message to an infected system. Home users should use Windows Automatic Updates to patch their systems.
According to Qualys, trends in 2008 suggest that attackers are focus on operating system and Microsoft Office vulnerabilities than anything else. Based on a trend analysis relying on between 200,000 and 300,000 daily scans, Qualys CTO Wolfgang Kandek says Office is a clear leader in terms of vulnerability, patched with 25 percent more frequency than Windows OS flaws.
Less often patched are Windows Vista vulnerabilities, which Kandek says is an indication of the low numbers of deployed installations in enterprises. As for the rest, the majority of systems have patches applied within 30 days.
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SecurityProNews is a daily online and email publication focusing on internet security issues.
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