James Delahunty
8 Sep 2009 23:49
Microsoft's monthly Patch Tuesday included five updates this time that address some critical bugs in the newer versions of the operating system. Microsoft did point out, however, that none of the issues apply to the final version of the soon-to-be-released Windows 7 operating system. However, for those running Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008, get your updates.
Two of the flaws involve serious vulnerabilities in networking components of Windows Vista, Server 2003 and 2008 which could let malicious software spread from computer to computer. In total, the five bulletins address eight different vulnerabilities. Those that are most likely to be exploited widely exploit the way in which Windows handles ASF and MP3 multimedia files.
"We've seen similar exploits in the past and all a user would have to do is visit a compromised Web site hosting one of these malicious files, which could be an MP3, WMA or WMV file, and they could become infected," said Symantec Security Response research manager Ben Greenbaum.
Additionally, Microsoft said that it is investigating another flaw that has come to light in the past few days which allows an attacked to force Windows Vista, and possibly Windows 7, into a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) error.