Category Archives: Security

aka infosec

Firefox, Patches and updates, Security

Firefox 34/34.0.5 stealth release

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Firefox 34.0 was released on December 1. The new version includes some security fixes, improves the search bar, and makes switching between profiles a bit easier.

As usual, there was no announcement for this version, despite Mozilla staffers telling me that major releases always get proper announcements on the Mozilla blog.

Further confusing things is a release notes page for version 34.0.5, linked from the main release notes page, that looks almost identical to the page for 34.0. Worse still, Firefox itself won’t update to 34.0.5, and the Firefox download page assures me that I’m running the latest version (that version being 34.0).

Is it just me, or is Mozilla getting worse at this stuff?

Update 2014Dec05: Apparently version 34.0.5 is somehow seen as optional. For whatever reason, the automatic updater and the download page see 34.0 and 34.0.5 as equivalent. The only way to upgrade from 34.0 to 34.0.5 is to download 34.0.5 from the ‘Download a fresh copy‘ page and install it on top of version 34.0.

Update 2014Dec08: Since the only difference between 34.0 and 34.0.5 is the default search provider, and that change only affects users in the US, it seems reasonable to assume that the Firefox download page (as well as Firefox’s self-updater) will only suggest 34.0.5 if you are in the US. My own tests were inconclusive.

Internet crime, Malware, Security, WordPress and other CMS

Warning: avoid using pirated themes on WordPress and other CMS sites

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Anyone who operates a WordPress, Joomla or Drupal site should exercise extreme caution when selecting themes and plugins. You should assume that any commercial theme or plugin offered for free contains malware.

Popular Content Management Systems (CMS), including WordPress, Joomla and Drupal can be customized through the use of themes and plugins. A theme is a collection of styles and other files that modify the default appearance of a CMS. A plugin typically adds specific functionality to a CMS. Many CMS themes and plugins are available for free, but the commercial ones are among the most popular, since they often include more and better features.

As with all commercial software, CMS themes and plugins are sometimes copied and offered for free on pirate sites. Unfortunately, it’s very easy for a theme or plugin to be modified so that any site using it can be compromised and then used for illegal activities.

The people at Fox-It recently published a document describing “CryptoPHP” (PDF) – malware that is showing up on CMS sites with alarming regularity. They traced the source of the malware to thousands of themes and plugins that had been modified to include a single line of PHP code that allows CryptoPHP to infect any site that uses one of those themes or plugins.

Recommendation: if you operate a CMS site, do not use any commercial theme or plugin that is offered for free. Make sure you obtain themes and plugins from the developer/author, or from a reputable source like wordpress.org.

There’s more information over on the Wordfence blog.

Adobe, Flash, Patches and updates, Security

Flash 15.0.0.239 strengthens protection against CVE-2014-8439

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Security vulnerability CVE-2014-8439 was addressed in the October updates for Flash, but recent attacks made it clear that more work was required. Flash 15.0.0.239 provides additional protection against attacks based on CVE-2014-8439.

Anyone who uses Flash is advised to install the new version as soon as possible. Google Chrome and Internet Explorer 10/11 in Windows 8.x will be updated automatically.

Note that if you use Flash in Internet Explorer as well as in other web browsers, you may need to install the new version twice: once using IE and once using another browser.

Internet crime, Security, Tools

Password management software now being targeted

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If you’re not already using password management software, you should be. It’s an extremely bad idea to use one password for more than one service, which makes remembering all those passwords difficult. With a password manager, you only have to remember one password: the one that allows access to all your other passwords.

I’ve been recommending Password Corral for years. Bruce Schneier’s Password Safe is also excellent. These are both desktop programs. I don’t recommend using an online password manager, because there’s always the possibility that the service itself could be hacked.

Unfortunately, even as we collectively get better at keeping ourselves secure, nefarious hackers shift their focus to more fertile ground. Now, it appears that they are targeting password management tools. It’s easy to see why: if a hacker can break your master password, they will have access to all of your other passwords.

Recommendation: if you are using a password management tool, make sure your master password is long and unique.

Update 2014Nov27: A post on the Duo Security blog has additional details.

Patches and updates, Security, WordPress and other CMS

WordPress 4.0.1 fixes security and other bugs

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A critical vulnerability in WordPress 3.9.2 and earlier has been addressed with the release of versions 3.9.3, 3.8.5, and 3.7.5. The vulnerability does not exist in WordPress 4.0. Anyone running WordPress 3.9.2 or earlier should apply the appropriate update as soon as possible.

Several less critical – but still important – security issues have also been addressed in WordPress 4.0.1. WordPress sites that are configured for auto-update should be automatically updated in the next day or so.

Microsoft, Patches and updates, Security, Windows

Microsoft issues special update MS14-068

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Two of the updates originally scheduled for release last week for Patch Tuesday were held back. Yesterday one of those updates was released. MS14-068 addresses security vulnerabilities in all versions of Windows. We recommend installing the update as soon as possible.

Brian Krebs has additional details, as does Ars Technica. A post on Microsoft’s Security Research and Defense Blog provides technical details of the vulnerability.

Adobe, Flash, Internet Explorer, Microsoft, Patches and updates, Security, Windows

Patch Tuesday for November 2014

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Yesterday Microsoft released fourteen updates, addressing 33 CVEs in Windows, Internet Explorer, Office, .NET, Internet Information Services, Remote Desktop Protocol, Active Directory Federation Services, Input Method Editor, and Kernel Mode Driver. Four of the updates are flagged as Critical. You can find all the details in the main bulletin.

Two of the expected sixteen updates (MS14-068 and MS14-075) were held back by Microsoft, with release dates for those updates now being shown as ‘Release date to be determined’.

In keeping with its new monthly update policy, Adobe released a new version of Flash yesterday. Flash 15.0.0.223 addresses several security vulnerabilities in previous versions.

Brian Krebs has additional analysis of these updates.

Update 2014Nov15: One of the updates in this batch addresses a serious vulnerability that exists on all versions of Windows. MS14-066 fixes a bug in the way secure connections are handled by the Microsoft secure channel (schannel) security component. Most of the focus has been on Windows servers, especially those running Microsoft’s web server software, Internet Information Services (IIS). However, according to some sources, any Windows computer that is configured to accept secure network connections is potentially vulnerable. Recommendation: if you’re running any Internet-facing service on a Windows computer, install this patch ASAP. Ars Technica has additional details.

Update 2014Nov15: Another of this month’s patches (MS14-064) addresses problems with a previous patch (MS14-060). McAfee has a detailed breakdown of the problems with MS14-060.

Update 2014Nov19: MS14-068 was released.

Update 2014Nov26: Apparently the MS14-066 update caused problems for some Windows servers. Microsoft added a workaround to the update bulletin that should resolve one of the problems, but has yet to acknowledge the performance problems reported in SQL Server and IIS. InfoWorld has additional details.