Category Archives: Security

aka infosec

Adobe, Flash, Patches and updates, Security

More security fixes for Adobe Flash

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Released yesterday, version 11.4.402.287 addresses security, performance and stability issues in the previous versions of Flash. Users are encouraged to install the new Flash as soon as possible.

Note that at the time of this post, the Flash Player Update Announcement on Adobe’s site shows the wrong version in the first paragraph. It should show the new version as 11.4.402.287 but instead shows it as 11.4.402.278.

Updates for Internet Explorer 10 and Google Chrome, containing associated fixes for Adobe Flash, were also released yesterday.

Microsoft, Patches and updates, Security, Windows

October 2012 Patch Tuesday Advance Notice

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Another month, another batch of updates from Microsoft. On October 9, starting at about 10 am PDT, Microsoft will release patches that address a total of twenty vulnerabilities in Windows and Office. Seven security bulletins will cover the defects being patched, one of which is a critical vulnerability in Word.

Also included in the upcoming updates will be Microsoft Security Advisory (2661254): Update For Minimum Certificate Key Length. This update is the final step in a series of actions taken by Microsoft to improve Internet-based security for its products. This update will force RSA-encrypted communications in Internet Explorer and Outlook to use keys that are 1024 bits in length or greater. If you access secure web sites with Internet Explorer or use encrypted email with Outlook, this update may cause those services to stop working. For further details, see:

Java, Security

Another Java vulnerability revealed

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As if things weren’t bad enough for Java on the web, security researcher Adam Gowdiak of Security Explorations yesterday announced yet another critical security flaw.

The new flaw apparently affects all versions of Java, including the most recent updates of Java 5, 6 and 7.

How does this affect users? Nothing has really changed: users are strongly urged to disable Java in their web browsers, since web sites are the most likely vector for attacks based on Java vulnerabilities. If that isn’t possible or practical for you, then your best course of action is to be extremely cautious when deciding whether to click any kind of link, in email or anywhere else. Simply visiting a web site can be enough to infect your computer.

Oracle has not responded to this latest report, and they have yet to respond to the previous Java vulnerability reports.

Internet Explorer, Microsoft, Security, Windows

Active attacks targeting Internet Explorer

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Update 2012Sep22: As promised by Microsoft, patches for Internet Explorer versions 9 and earlier were made available yesterday. The patches are available through regular update channels, including Windows Update and Microsoft Update. Security Bulletin MS12-063 has all the details, including links for downloading the updates separately.

Update 2012Sep21: A fix for this issue, promised earlier this week by Microsoft, was announced yesterday. Anyone using Internet Explorer for web browsing is strongly encouraged to install the fix immediately. A proper (i.e. fully tested) patch will be available from Microsoft later today.

Update 2012Sep19: Another bulletin from Microsoft promises an ‘out of cycle’ fix for this issue in the next few days. Meanwhile, the list of sites known to contain the exploit code is growing.

Update 2012Sep18: Microsoft has issued a security bulletin that goes into some detail about this issue and suggests workarounds. Apparently you can install the ‘Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit’, or configure Internet Explorer to either prompt before running ActiveX scripts or prevent them from running altogether.

A newly-discovered vulnerability in most versions of Internet Explorer is being exploited in current, ongoing attacks.

Anyone using IE 6, 7, 8 or 9 on Windows XP, Vista or 7 is potentially at risk. To become infected, a user need only visit a web site that contains the exploit code. Typically, trojan malware is then installed silently on the user’s computer. The computer is then open to further attacks as well as remote control by the perpetrators.

Internet Explorer 10 is not affected.

The exploit code may be placed on a web site without the knowledge of the site owner, if the site is not secure.

This vulnerability and the associated attacks are serious enough to warrant extreme caution when using Internet Explorer. Some experts are recommending discontinuing the use of Internet Explorer until a fix becomes available.

Microsoft has issued a bulletin that provides additional details.

Malware, Security

New PushDo trojan variants currently active

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The PushDo trojan has been around for a while, but recent variants are making it more difficult for security researchers.

PushDo infects vulnerable computers when users visit an infected web site (drive-by download). Once installed on a computer, PushDo sends out phishing email purporting to be from banking institutions, tricking other users into clicking links within the email and infecting their computers with other malware.

What makes the new versions of PushDo different is that they hide communication with the botnet’s controlling servers amongst a flurry of traffic to other, unrelated servers. This makes the process of finding the controlling servers much more difficult and time-consuming.

Adobe, Flash, Internet Explorer, Microsoft, Patches and updates, Security, Windows 8.x

Windows 8 Internet Explorer shipping with vulnerable Flash

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Update 2012Sep22: A Security Advisory published yesterday by Microsoft announced the availability of a patch for Flash in Internet Explorer 10. A related post on the Microsoft Security Response Center blog explains how security updates for Flash in Internet Explorer will be handled in the future. Anyone using Internet Explorer 10 or Windows 8 should install the Flash update as soon as possible.

Update 2012Sep11: Given the negative reaction to Microsoft’s previous announcement that recent Flash vulnerabilities would not be fixed in Internet Explorer 10 until after Windows 8 is released, today’s announcement is perhaps not much of a surprise. Microsoft is now saying that the Flash holes in IE10 will be plugged much sooner than originally announced. However, there will still be an easily-exploited delay between the launch of Windows 8 and the point at which all Windows 8 systems are patched.

Recently, Google switched to an integrated version of Flash in the Chrome web browser. They did this to simplify the update process: Chrome users no longer have to worry about keeping their browser’s Flash plugin up to date.

Microsoft has apparently done something similar with Internet Explorer 10, which is included with Windows 8. Unfortunately, the recent Flash vulnerabilities were not addressed in Internet Explorer 10 when Windows 8 was finalized recently. Which means Windows 8 has at least two very serious security holes in its integrated web browser, out of the box.

Microsoft says that the Flash vulnerabilities in Windows 8’s IE10 will be fixed during the regular patch cycle, but it’s not known exactly when the updates will appear.

Nefarious hackers are no doubt preparing for a surge of new Windows 8 systems to appear on the Internet, all with these rather large holes, ready to exploit.

If you are using Windows 8 or plan to start using it soon, your options are:

  • Stop using Internet Explorer. This isn’t really a viable option, since the browser is integrated into the O/S.
  • Disable Flash in Internet Explorer 10, assuming this is even possible.
  • Avoid all Flash content while using Internet Explorer 10. This is increasingly difficult to accomplish, given the prevalence of Flash content on the web.
Malware, Security

Phishing email examples

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‘Phishing’ is the term used to describe email sent with the intention of tricking the recipient into divulging personal (often financial) information to the perpetrator.

A recent ISC Diary post provides some examples of recent phishing email received by ISC handler Johannes Ullrich. The associated analysis is helpful for learning how to distinguish legitimate from phishing email.

ISC is the Internet Storm Center, which “provides a free analysis and warning service to thousands of Internet users and organizations, and is actively working with Internet Service Providers to fight back against the most malicious attackers.” The site and associated services provide a wealth of information regarding Internet security.

Java, Patches and updates, Security

That was fast… vulnerability found in latest Java

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Researchers have already found a vulnerability in Java 7 Update 7, which was only released yesterday. So far all we know is that a report, along with code demonstrating the security hole, have been submitted to Oracle, Java’s developer.

Details on the new Java hole show that it could be used to take over a vulnerable computer. So, once again, users are being urged to disable Java, especially in web browser software.

Your move, Oracle.

UPDATE 2012Sep01: SANS reports that a new email phishing attack exploiting this new Java hole is showing up in the wild. The email appears to be from Microsoft, and is patterned on a recent, legitimate Microsoft email message. The mail contains an URL that – once clicked – sends web browsers to a site that has been infected with the published Java exploit code. Advice to users is the same as usual: be very careful about clicking on any link you don’t know for sure is safe, and consider disabling Java in your web browser.