Microsoft security alert.
May 11, 2010
Advisory overview
Qualys Vulnerability R&D Lab has released new vulnerability checks in the Enterprise TruRisk Platform to protect organizations against 2 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.
Vulnerability details
Microsoft has released 2 security bulletins to fix newly discovered flaws in their software. Qualys has released the following checks for these new vulnerabilities:
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Microsoft Outlook Express and Windows Mail Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (MS10-030)
- Severity
- Critical 4
- Qualys ID
- 90602
- Vendor Reference
- MS10-030
- CVE Reference
- CVE-2010-0816
- CVSS Scores
- Base 9.3 / Temporal 7.3
- Description
-
Windows Mail (formerly Outlook Express) is an online communication tool for use with Windows.
Windows Mail is prone to a vulnerability is caused when a common library used by Outlook Express and Windows Mail insufficiently validates network data before using that data to calculate the necessary size of a buffer. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a user visits a malicious email server.
Microsoft has released a security update that addresses the vulnerability by correctly validating email server responses. The security update is rated Critical for Microsoft Outlook Express on all supported editions of Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003; and for Windows Mail on all supported editions of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. The security update is rated Important for Windows Live Mail on all supported editions of Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 R2; and for Windows Mail on all supported editions of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.
Windows Embedded Systems:- For additional information regarding security updates for embedded systems, refer to the following MSDN blog(s):
June 2010 Security Updates are Available on ECE for Standard 09and XP Embedded (KB978542, 978542)
May 2010 Security Updates for XPe\Standard 2009 are Finally Available on ECE (KB978542, 978542)
Updates for Windows Embedded Standard 7 Are Now Available (KB978542)
- Consequence
-
An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could take complete control of an affected system.
An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights.
- Solution
-
Patch:
Following are links for downloading patches to fix the vulnerabilities:Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 (Microsoft Outlook Express 5.5 Service Pack 2)
Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 (Microsoft Outlook Express 6 Service Pack 1)
Windows XP Service Pack 2 and Windows XP Service Pack 3 (Microsoft Outlook Express 6)
Windows XP Service Pack 2 and Windows XP Service Pack 3 (Windows Live Mail)
Windows XP Professional x64 Edition Service Pack 2 (Microsoft Outlook Express 6)
Windows XP Professional x64 Edition Service Pack 2 (Windows Live Mail)
Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (Microsoft Outlook Express 6)
Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition Service Pack 2 (Microsoft Outlook Express 6)
Windows Server 2003 with SP2 for Itanium-based Systems (Microsoft Outlook Express 6)
Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (Windows Mail)
Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (Windows Live Mail)
Windows Vista x64 Edition Service Pack 1 and Windows Vista x64 Edition Service Pack 2 (Windows Mail)
For a complete list of patch download links, please refer to Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-030.
Workaround:
Use web-based email instead of IMAP or POP3 to check email.
-
Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (MS10-031)
- Severity
- Critical 4
- Qualys ID
- 110121
- Vendor Reference
- MS10-031
- CVE Reference
- CVE-2010-0815
- CVSS Scores
- Base 9.3 / Temporal 7.7
- Description
-
Microsoft VBA is a development technology for developing client desktop packaged applications and integrating them with existing data and systems. Microsoft VBA is based on the Microsoft Visual Basic development system. Microsoft Office products include VBA and make use of VBA to perform certain functions. VBA can also be used to build customized applications around an existing host application.
A stack-based memory corruption vulnerability exists in VBE6.dll . The vulnerability is caused by the way that VBA searches for ActiveX controls in a document that supports VBA. As a result, it is possible for a host application, such as Microsoft Office or a third-party application developed for Visual Basic programmability, to pass a specially crafted document with embedded ActiveX controls to the VBA runtime creating a condition that could allow arbitrary code to be run.
Microsoft has released a security update that addresses this vulnerability by modifying the way that Visual Basic for Applications searches for ActiveX Controls embedded in documents.
- Consequence
- Successfully exploiting this vulnerability might allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code.
- Solution
-
Patch:
Following are links for downloading patches to fix the vulnerabilities:Microsoft Office XP Service Pack 3
Microsoft Office 2003 Service Pack 3
2007 Microsoft Office System Service Pack 1 and 2007 Microsoft Office System Service Pack 2
Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications
Refer to Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-031 for further details.
Workaround:
1) Disable ActiveX controls in the 2007 Microsoft Office SystemImpact of workaround #1: Embedded ActiveX controls (such as macros) will not run in Office documents.
2) Restrict access to VBE6.dll
Impact of workaround #2: Embedded ActiveX controls (such as macros) will not run in Office documents. For instance, users will be unable to insert objects into Office documents.
3) Use the Microsoft Office Isolated Conversion Environment (MOICE) when opening files from unknown or un-trusted sources because it protects Office 2003 installations by more securely opening Word, Excel, and PowerPoint binary format files. Information on MOICE can be found at KB935865.
Impact of the workaround:
Office 2003 and earlier formatted documents that are converted to the 2007 Microsoft Office System Open XML format by MOICE lose their macro functionality. Documents protected with passwords and Digital Rights Management cannot be converted.4) Do not open or save untursted Microsoft Office files
Detailed information on applying the workarounds is available at Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-031.
These new vulnerability checks are included in Qualys vulnerability signature 1.26.63-3. 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.
Selective Scan Instructions Using Qualys
To perform a selective vulnerability scan, configure a scan profile to use the following options:
- Ensure access to TCP ports 135 and 139 are available.
- Enable Windows Authentication (specify Authentication Records).
-
Enable the following Qualys IDs:
- 90602
- 110121
- If you would like the scan to return the Windows Hostname, also include QID 82044 and ensure access to UDP port 137 is available.
- If you would like to be notified if Qualys is unable to log on 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 Analysis Report, available from the Qualys Vulnerability Management Reports tab.
Access for Qualys Customers
Platforms and Platform Identification
Technical Support
For more information, customers may contact Qualys Technical Support.
About Qualys
The Enterprise TruRisk 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.