* Patches from Yahoo, Microsoft, Trustix, others * Beware of fake Microsoft security alerts * Antivirus fix in works by security researchers, and other interesting reading
Today’s bug patches and security alerts:
With attack code out, Yahoo fixes IM flaw
Yahoo Inc. has fixed a serious vulnerability in its Messenger instant messaging client. The patch, posted Thursday fixes a critical flaw in the ActiveX control used by Messenger’s Webcam feature. According to security experts, this flaw could be exploited by hackers to install unauthorized software on a victim’s PC. IDG News Service, 06/08/07.
Yahoo advisory/FAQ
Symantec’s take on the Yahoo flaw
F-Secure’s take on the Yahoo flaw
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Four critical Windows fixes coming next week
Microsoft will release six sets of security patches next Tuesday, four of which will fix critical flaws in the Windows operating system. The software will be released as part of Microsoft’s regular monthly security release, known informally as “Patch Tuesday.” Microsoft is also planning less-critical updates for Visio and Windows Vista, the company said in a note, published Thursday. IDG News Service, 06/07/07.
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A denial-of-service vulnerability has been found in Trustix’s implementation of the ClamAV antivirus application. An attacker could place a large OLE2 file on an affected system to exploit the flaw.
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rPath releases fix for gd and php
According to rPath, “Previous versions of the gd and php packages are vulnerable to a denial-of-service attack in which an attacker can use a truncated PNG image to cause unbounded CPU consumption.”
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Three new patches from Debian:
Gimp (buffer overflow, code execution)
ipsec-tools (denial of service)
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Today’s malware news:
Beware of fake Microsoft security alerts
With Microsoft’s monthly patch release expected on Tuesday, scammers are sending out fake security bulletins that attempt to install malicious software on victim’s computers. IDG News Service, 06/08/07.
Top 10 malware registry launchpoints
Most Trojans, worms, backdoors, and such make sure they will be run after a reboot by introducing autorun keys and values into Windows registry. Some of these registry locations are better documented than others and some are more commonly used than others. One of the first steps to take when doing forensic analysis is to check the most obvious places in the registry for modifications. F-Secure blog, 06/08/07.
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From the interesting reading department:
Antivirus fix in works by security researchers
Antivirus technologies might not be on their last legs, but they could use a second wind, security researchers say. Network World, 06/07/07.
Northwestern Univ. hit by third data breach since ’05
For the third time in just over two years, Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., has reported a security breach involving sensitive data. The latest warning follows the discovery of a security breach on June 1 involving a computer in the university’s Integrated Graduate Program in Life Sciences. Personal information, including Social Security numbers belonging to about 4,000 people who had applied to or attended the program from 1991 to 2007, was potentially exposed in the breach, according to a brief statement posted on the university’s Web site. Computerworld, 06/07/07.
The security world according to vendor surveys
One survey describes USB devices as the leading security threat facing IT managers these days. Another one talks about zero-day attacks emerging as the biggest driver of security budgets. A third survey says a majority of 1,600 consumers polled want their banks to implement risk-based authentication mechanisms. Computerworld, 06/08/07.
