Microsoft have released eleven bulletins for this month's Patch Tuesday.
Five of these bulletins are rated as Critical. A further five are rated as Important and one with a Moderate rating.
These bulletins all relate to Microsoft Operating Systems and Office software. The majority of the supported operating systems are affected this month; Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 2003, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 2008. All patches either need a system reboot or may need a system reboot.
As usual, these patches address fundamental issues relating to vulnerabilities in the operating system or software which could be used by attackers to compromise your systems.
There is also one major cumulative update since the last Patch Tuesday for every version of Internet Explorer that Microsoft supports. It fixes a total of 10 security holes, some of which allow remote code execution, others which could let the attacker retrieve data they should not. There are also a number of non-security fixes. You should install this patch immediately if you have not yet done so (MS10-018, KB980182).
Another import consideration this month is for Windows Vista. The original release of Vista is no longer supported by Microsoft so updates will no longer be offered. If you are not currently running SP1 or SP2 then we strongly advise you consider upgrading, with the usual precautions on updating operating systems, to ensure Vista can receive updates and be supported.
There are a number of viruses and malware that could exploit these vulnerabilities making them a real threat if left open by giving attackers the ability to compromise your systems.
Our usual advice is…
- Ensure that the critical patches are deployed to all Windows desktop and server operating systems and Software, where appropriate, immediately.
- Ensure that all Anti-virus and Malware blocking software packages are fully up to date, and properly configured firewalls are in place within your environment.
- Update your Operating systems with the latest round of Critical patches as soon as possible (MS10-019, MS10-020, MS10-025, MS10-026, MS10-027)
- Contact us if you require any further advice or guidance on 01206 235000
As always, some consideration is needed in order to evaluate any risks depending on whether you have the relevant affected environment. More details on these patches is given in the table below with links to the relevant Microsoft Knowledge base articles.
Table 1: Details of MS Patches released Tuesday 13/04/2010
| MS Link |
ITSL Summary |
Severity |
Affected Software |
Restart after patch |
|
MS10-019
KB981210
|
A signature verification system vulnerability can allow remote code execution attacks, which are not mitigated by lower user permissions. Please install this patch as soon as possible. |
Critical
|
Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 2003, 2008 & 2008R2 |
Yes
|
|
MS10-020
KB980232
|
This patch fixes a problem where an attacker could send a remote code execution attack. You will need to install this patch immediately, because the attacker could get full access privileges regardless of the victim’s permission level. |
Critical
|
Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 2003, 2008 & 2008R2 |
Yes
|
|
MS10-021
KB977165
|
This patch addresses a number of reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows. The attacker would need to be logged on in order to exploit them however. Install the patch during your next patch cycle. |
Important
|
Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 2003, 2008 & 2008R2 |
Yes
|
|
MS10-022
KB981169
|
This is the fix for an already disclosed F1 key problem. The severity of this is not critical, since it requires a user to perform certain actions under certain circumstances to be exploited. Install the patch during your next patch cycle. |
Important
|
Windows XP, Vista, 7, 2003, 2008 & 2008R2 |
May require restart
|
|
MS10-023
KB981160
|
If you are using Microsoft Publisher, this patch fixes a remote code execution exploit. Install this for everyone who uses Publisher. |
Important
|
Microsoft Publisher 2002, 2003, 2007 |
May require restart |
|
MS10-024
KB976323
|
A bug in the SMTP server system could allow denial of service attacks. Install this patch on any servers running SMTP. |
Important
|
2000, XP, 2003, 2008, 2008 R2, Exchange 2000, Exchange 2003, Exchange 2007, Exchange 2010 |
Yes
|
|
MS10-025
KB980858
|
Windows Media Services on Windows Server 2000 can allow remote code execution attacks. Install this patch immediately on those servers. |
Critical
|
Windows Server 2000 |
Yes
|
|
MS10-026
KB977816
|
This patch protects against remote code execution attacks from maliciously crafted AVI files, or streamed malicious MPEG-3 encoded media. User accounts with lowered permissions may mitigate the risks slightly, but not necessarily. Install this patch immediately to protect against this. |
Critical
|
Windows 2000, XP, 2003, 2008, Vista |
May require restart
|
|
MS10-027
KB979402
|
This is another Windows Media Player vulnerability. Very similar to MS10-026. Install this patch as soon as you can. |
Critical
|
Windows 2000, XP |
May require restart
|
|
MS10-028
KB980094
|
This remote code execution exploit is triggered by opening malicious Visio files. The attacker should get the user’s rights, so lowered privileges might help to prevent some damage. Install for Visio users as soon as you can. |
Important
|
Visio 2002, Visio 2003, Visio 2007 |
May require restart
|
|
MS10-029
KB978338
|
A lack of filtering capabilities (included in later versions of Windows) allows an attacker to spoof an IP address; this patch fixes it. Update your systems with this patch during your next patch cycle. |
Moderate
|
Windows XP, Vista, 2003, 2008 |
Yes
|
| Rating |
Definition |
| Critical |
A vulnerability whose exploitation could allow the propagation of an Internet worm without user action. |
| Important |
A vulnerability whose exploitation could result in compromise of the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of users data, or of the integrity or availability of processing resources. |
| Moderate |
Exploitability is mitigated to a significant degree by factors such as default configuration, auditing, or difficulty of exploitation. |
| Low |
A vulnerability whose exploitation is extremely difficult, or whose impact is minimal. |