Microsoft seems to be having a bad couple of months with their SQL issues and IE troubles. Although this patch was scheduled for their “Patch Tuesday”, it fixes problems in Windows that could allow hackers to inject code into your computer. It had to deal with the SMB protocol that sends requests (information) to controllers such as printers.

The issue was ranked critical mainly due to the fact that the option for it was turned on by default in Windows XP, but turned off by default in Vista giving it a moderate ranking.

While the port is open (settings enabled), it would allow potential hackers the availability to hound the computer with a DOS attack, inject code and/or steal vital (financial) information. Although Microsoft claims that this exploit is not likely to be explored due to the fact that it is “too tough for the average hacker”.

I would like to find out why Microsoft thinks that everyone is in the “average” category. They assume that no one will exploit this, which is a call for people to do it, and you know what assuming means. Mark Wodrich explains more,

The vulnerabilities cause a fixed value (zero) to be written to kernel memory – not data that the attacker controls.

Controlling what data is overwritten is difficult. To exploit this type of kernel buffer overrun, an attacker typically needs to be able to predict the layout and contents of memory. The memory layout of the targeted machine will depend on various factors such as the physical characteristics (RAM, CPUs) of the system, system load, other SMB requests it is processing, etc.

Microsoft, however, claims that the risk is greater for corporations with open SMB ports where a potential attacker could gain access. I think that Microsoft has it wrong by assuming that no one will likely exploit this. To be safe, I would be downloading this update as soon as possible because who knows, you might be the first to be hacked.

Source: PCE
Image courtesy of protectwebform