Microsoft Security Updates August 2009

Microsoft has released its monthly set of security patches yesterday which patch several security vulnerabilities in Microsoft software programs including Microsoft operating systems and Microsoft Office. A summary of the patches can be accessed at the Microsoft website which lists nine security bulletins. Of these nine security bulletins five are rated critical and four important. Users who operate Microsoft operating systems or Microsoft products should install the security patches as soon as possible to protect their system from possible exploits.

Affected operating systems include Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and 2008, Windows 2000 but not Windows 7. Downloads are available from the usual locations including automatic updates, Windows Update, Microsoft Update or by following the links in the security bulletins below.

• MS09-043 Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office Web Components Could Allow Remote Code Execution (957638)

  This security update resolves several privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office Web Components that could allow remote code execution if a user viewed a specially crafted Web page. An attacker who successfully exploited these vulnerabilities could gain the same user rights as the local user. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.

• MS09-044 Vulnerabilities in Remote Desktop Connection Could Allow Remote Code Execution (970927)

  This security update resolves two privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection. The vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if an attacker successfully convinced a user of Terminal Services to connect to a malicious RDP server or if a user visits a specially crafted Web site that exploits this vulnerability. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.

• MS09-039 Vulnerabilities in WINS Could Allow Remote Code Execution (969883)

  This security update resolves two privately reported vulnerabilities in the Windows Internet Name Service (WINS). Either vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a user received a specially crafted WINS replication packet on an affected system running the WINS service. By default, WINS is not installed on any affected operating system version. Only customers who manually install this component are affected by this issue.

• MS09-038 - Vulnerabilities in Windows Media File Processing Could Allow Remote Code Execution (971557)

  This security update resolves two privately reported vulnerabilities in Windows Media file processing. Either vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a user opened a specially crafted AVI file. If a user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of an affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.

• MS09-037 Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Active Template Library (ATL) Could Allow Remote Code Execution (973908)

  This security update resolves several privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft Active Template Library (ATL). The vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user loaded a specially crafted component or control hosted on a malicious website. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.

• MS09-041 Vulnerability in Workstation Service Could Allow Elevation of Privilege (971657)

  This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in the Windows Workstation Service. The vulnerability could allow elevation of privilege if an attacker created a specially crafted RPC message and sent the message to an affected system. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could execute arbitrary code and take complete control of an affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. An attacker must have valid logon credentials to a vulnerable system in order to exploit this vulnerability. The vulnerability could not be exploited by anonymous users.

• MS09-040 Vulnerability in Message Queuing Could Allow Elevation of Privilege (971032)

  This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in the Windows Message Queuing Service (MSMQ). The vulnerability could allow elevation of privilege if a user received a specially crafted request to an affected MSMQ service. By default, the Message Queuing component is not installed on any affected operating system edition and can only be enabled by a user with administrative privileges. Only customers who manually install the Message Queuing component are likely to be vulnerable to this issue.

• MS09-036 Vulnerability in ASP.NET in Microsoft Windows Could Allow Denial of Service (970957)

  This security update addresses a privately reported Denial of Service vulnerability in the Microsoft .NET Framework component of Microsoft Windows. This vulnerability can be exploited only when Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.0 is installed and ASP.NET is configured to use integrated mode on affected versions of Microsoft Windows. An attacker could create specially crafted anonymous HTTP requests that could cause the affected Web server to become non-responsive until the associated application pool is restarted. Customers who are running IIS 7.0 application pools in classic mode are not affected by this vulnerability.

• MS09-042 Vulnerability in Telnet Could Allow Remote Code Execution (960859)

  This security update resolves a publicly disclosed vulnerability in the Microsoft Telnet service. The vulnerability could allow an attacker to obtain credentials and then use them to log back into affected systems. The attacker would then acquire user rights on a system identical to the user rights of the logged-on user. This scenario could ultimately result in remote code execution on affected systems. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with

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