Facebook Google Plus Twitter LinkedIn YouTube RSS Menu Search Resource - BlogResource - WebinarResource - ReportResource - Eventicons_066 icons_067icons_068icons_069icons_070

Tenable Blog

Subscribe

Microsoft Patch Tuesday - January 2012

The first round of security bulletins from Microsoft this year raises some interesting questions about the vulnerabilities being patched. I found the following three advisories particularly interesting:

From MS12-002:

The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a user opens a legitimate file with an embedded packaged object that is located in the same network directory as a specially crafted executable file. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the logged-on user.

MS12-002 is ranked by Microsoft as important. Sure, it does require that the user browse file systems, however users can be baited, or even forced, to browse to a network share. Social engineering attacks can lure victims to specific sites, and SMB share paths can be embedded inside web pages and URLS, forcing the user to browse to a share or even a specific file.

From MS12-004:

(Windows Media Player): Vulnerabilities in Windows Media Player Could Cause Remote Code Execution. This bulletin – the only one in January’s set to include multiple CVEs – addresses two issues that could arise if a would-be attacker sent a malicious MIDI or DirectShow file to a targeted user.

As I learn how organizations manage large deployments of Windows desktops, I am amazed at how the technology has grown and evolved over the years. Administrators now can have complete control of which software is installed on the end user workstations, and maybe something like Windows Media Player is not required on all desktops, especially ones that have access to specific kind of information.

From MS12-006:

This is an information disclosure vulnerability that allows the decryption of encrypted SSL/TLS traffic. This vulnerability primarily impacts HTTPS traffic, since the browser is the primary attack vector, and all web traffic served via HTTPS or mixed content HTTP/HTTPS is affected.

MS12-006 is ranked by Microsoft as "Important" and denoted as "information disclosure". I believe that is a poor way to represent a vulnerability that "could allow" an attack to decrypt your SSL traffic. Sure, its not remote exploitability, however, if the goal of an attacker is to gain access to your sensitive information, decrypting your SSL traffic is a great way to achieve that goal. This does require that an attacker gain a foothold somewhere in your organization, but as so many breaches have shown, this is not often a terribly difficult task to achieve.

The bottom line is that you need to choose which software is installed on your systems, and likely try to pair it down as much as possible. Also, when you are trying to defend your network, and prioritize patches, do so with the notion that an attacker could likely be on a machine on the inside of your network. I've found some of the most resilient networks have built security around the "there is already an attacker on the inside" concept.

To help evaluate the vulnerabilities addressed by Microsoft’s Patch Tuesday, Tenable's Research team has published Nessus plugins for each of the security bulletins issued this month:

Resources

Related Articles

Cybersecurity News You Can Use

Enter your email and never miss timely alerts and security guidance from the experts at Tenable.

Tenable Vulnerability Management

Enjoy full access to a modern, cloud-based vulnerability management platform that enables you to see and track all of your assets with unmatched accuracy.

Your Tenable Vulnerability Management trial also includes Tenable Lumin and Tenable Web App Scanning.

Tenable Vulnerability Management

Enjoy full access to a modern, cloud-based vulnerability management platform that enables you to see and track all of your assets with unmatched accuracy. Purchase your annual subscription today.

100 assets

Choose Your Subscription Option:

Buy Now

Tenable Vulnerability Management

Enjoy full access to a modern, cloud-based vulnerability management platform that enables you to see and track all of your assets with unmatched accuracy.

Your Tenable Vulnerability Management trial also includes Tenable Lumin and Tenable Web App Scanning.

Tenable Vulnerability Management

Enjoy full access to a modern, cloud-based vulnerability management platform that enables you to see and track all of your assets with unmatched accuracy. Purchase your annual subscription today.

100 assets

Choose Your Subscription Option:

Buy Now

Tenable Vulnerability Management

Enjoy full access to a modern, cloud-based vulnerability management platform that enables you to see and track all of your assets with unmatched accuracy.

Your Tenable Vulnerability Management trial also includes Tenable Lumin and Tenable Web App Scanning.

Tenable Vulnerability Management

Enjoy full access to a modern, cloud-based vulnerability management platform that enables you to see and track all of your assets with unmatched accuracy. Purchase your annual subscription today.

100 assets

Choose Your Subscription Option:

Buy Now

Try Tenable Web App Scanning

Enjoy full access to our latest web application scanning offering designed for modern applications as part of the Tenable One Exposure Management platform. Safely scan your entire online portfolio for vulnerabilities with a high degree of accuracy without heavy manual effort or disruption to critical web applications. Sign up now.

Your Tenable Web App Scanning trial also includes Tenable Vulnerability Management and Tenable Lumin.

Buy Tenable Web App Scanning

Enjoy full access to a modern, cloud-based vulnerability management platform that enables you to see and track all of your assets with unmatched accuracy. Purchase your annual subscription today.

5 FQDNs

$3,578

Buy Now

Try Tenable Lumin

Visualize and explore your exposure management, track risk reduction over time and benchmark against your peers with Tenable Lumin.

Your Tenable Lumin trial also includes Tenable Vulnerability Management and Tenable Web App Scanning.

Buy Tenable Lumin

Contact a Sales Representative to see how Tenable Lumin can help you gain insight across your entire organization and manage cyber risk.

Try Tenable Nessus Professional Free

FREE FOR 7 DAYS

Tenable Nessus is the most comprehensive vulnerability scanner on the market today.

NEW - Tenable Nessus Expert
Now Available

Nessus Expert adds even more features, including external attack surface scanning, and the ability to add domains and scan cloud infrastructure. Click here to Try Nessus Expert.

Fill out the form below to continue with a Nessus Pro Trial.

Buy Tenable Nessus Professional

Tenable Nessus is the most comprehensive vulnerability scanner on the market today. Tenable Nessus Professional will help automate the vulnerability scanning process, save time in your compliance cycles and allow you to engage your IT team.

Buy a multi-year license and save. Add Advanced Support for access to phone, community and chat support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Select Your License

Buy a multi-year license and save.

Add Support and Training

Try Tenable Nessus Expert Free

FREE FOR 7 DAYS

Built for the modern attack surface, Nessus Expert enables you to see more and protect your organization from vulnerabilities from IT to the cloud.

Already have Tenable Nessus Professional?
Upgrade to Nessus Expert free for 7 days.

Buy Tenable Nessus Expert

Built for the modern attack surface, Nessus Expert enables you to see more and protect your organization from vulnerabilities from IT to the cloud.

Select Your License

Buy a multi-year license and save more.

Add Support and Training