New Java Update Available

Oracle has released update for Java SE and Java for Business. The update fixes multiple security vulnerabilities and contains also some non-security patches.

Affected versions are:
- Java SE:
• JDK and JRE 6 Update 18 and earlier for Windows, Solaris, and Linux
• JDK 5.0 Update 23 and earlier for Solaris
• SDK 1.4.2_25 and earlier for Solaris

- Java for Business:
• JDK and JRE 6 Update 18 and earlier for Windows, Solaris and Linux
• JDK and JRE 5.0 Update 23 and earlier for Windows, Solaris and Linux
• SDK and JRE 1.4.2_25 and earlier for Windows, Solaris and Linux

More information about the update can be read from Java critical patch update document.

Java users are recommended to update their versions to the latest one available.

Apple Patches QuickTime Player Vulnerabilities

Apple has released a new version of their QuickTime media player. New version fixes 16 vulnerabilities that all make it possible for an attacker to execute arbitrary code in target system. To exploit the vulnerabilities attacker can lure user to open specially crafted file.

Vulnerabilities affect QuickTime versions prior 7.6.6. Users of vulnerable version should update to the latest one available.

More information about the security content of QuickTime 7.6.6 can be read here.

New Version Of iTunes Available

Apple has released new version of their iTunes media player application. Version 9.1 fixes security vulnerabilities of which some allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code in target system.

More information about the security content of iTunes 9.1 can be read here.

Old version users should update to the latest one available.

Out-Of-Band Update For Internet Explorer Released

Microsoft has released update for Internet Explorer out of their regular update cycle. MS10-018 update fixes ten vulnerabilities (nine privately reported and one publicly disclosed). The update is categorized as critical and consumers get it easiest by using Microsoft Update service.

Summary of Microsoft security updates for March 2010 can be viewed here.

Windows 2000, XP SP2 and Vista End of Life Support

Windows 2000 Professional and Windows 2000 Server are approaching 10 years since their launch and both products will go out of support on July 13, 2010.

Windows XP was launched back in 2001. While support for the product will continue, Service Pack 2 will go out of support on July 13, 2010. From that date onwards, Microsoft will no longer support or provide free security updates for Windows XP SP2.

Finally, Windows Vista with no Service Packs installed will end support on April 13 2010. Please install the free Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista to have the most secure and supported Windows Vista platform.

Users who still have Windows XP SP2 or Windows Vista with no Service Packs installed and are not planning to switch to Windows 7 yet should update their versions in order to get supported. XP users should install SP3 and Vista users should get SP2.

More information can be read here.

New Opera Version Released

Opera has released a new version of their web browser. Among earlier reported buffer overflow vulnerability another security issue has been fixed too.

Highly severe:
Large values in the HTTP Content-Length header can cause Opera to crash. Certain specific values can cause a memory corruption, which in some cases can allow arbitrary code to be injected and executed. In most cases Opera will just crash. To inject code, additional techniques will have to be employed.

Highly severe:
XSLT is normally subject to strict controls, preventing documents from separate Web sites from reading the contents of other sites. Certain XSLT constructs can cause Opera to retrieve the wrong contents for the resulting document. These contents will appear randomly from the cached versions of any Web page that has previously been visited, and could contain sensitive information. This information can then be read by the resulting document.

Opera users are strongly recommended to update to 10.51 version. New version can be downloaded here.

Firefox 3.6.2 Released Earlier Than Expected

Yesterday I blogged about the upcoming 3.6.2 update for Firefox. It was planned to be released on March 30th but surprisingly Mozilla made the version available already. Firefox users can get the update via inbuilt updater (from Firefox menu: Help->Check for updates) or alternatively it can be downloaded here.

Firefox 3.6.2 Release notes

Unpatched Firefox 3.6 Vulnerability To Be Patched In 3.6.2 Version

Last month it was reported about unpatched vulnerability affecting Firefox 3.6 version. Mozilla has now announced that the vulnerability will be patched as a part of Firefox 3.6.2, scheduled to be released March 30th. More details can be read from Mozilla blog entry.

Password Reset Scam Targeting Facebook Users

McAfee reports in their log about global scam campaign that targets Facebook users. One example email subject used is "Facebook Password Reset Confirmation! Customer Support.". The message states that recipient's Facebook account password has been changed and new password can be found in attached document. "The malware in the attachment is pretty much what one would expect: downloaders, password-stealing Trojan, fake-AV, or bot stuff, depending on which one you got".

The whole story here.

HP PCs Broadcom Integrated NIC Vulnerability

There has been found a vulnerability affecting various HP Small Form Factor and Microtower PCs. The vulnerability may allow an attacker to remotely compromise a vulnerable system. This is caused by an unspecified error within the Broadcom Integrated NIC firmware.

Affected products are:

HP Compaq 6005 Pro Microtower PC
HP Compaq 6005 Pro Small Form Factor PC
HP Compaq dc5700 Microtower
HP Compaq dc5700 Small Form Factor
HP Compaq dc5750 Microtower
HP Compaq dc5750 Small Form Factor
HP Compaq dc5850 Small Form Factor
HP Compaq dc5850 Microtower
HP Compaq dc7600 Convertible
HP Compaq dc7600 Microtower
HP Compaq dc7600 Small Form Factor
HP Compaq dx7200 Microtower
HP rp3000 Point of Sale
HP rp5700 Business Desktop
HP rp5700 Point of Sale

Broadcom Integrated NIC Management Firmware for HP PCs versions prior to 1.40.0.0
Broadcom Integrated NIC Management Firmware for HP PCs versions prior to 8.08

Solution is to update firmware to version 1.40.0.0 or 8.08. Firmware upgrade can be downloaded here.


More information:
HP support document
VUPEN security advisory

Safari 4.0.5 Fixes A Bunch of Vulnerabilities

Apple has released a new version of their Safari web browser. Version 4.0.5 contains fixes to 16 security vulnerabilities.

Safari users can get fresh copy here.

More information about the security content of Safari 4.0.5 can be read here.

Pointer Related Vulnerability In Internet Explorer

Microsoft has published an advisory in which they state that they are investigating public reports of a vulnerability affecting Internet Explorer web browser versions 6 and 7. Microsoft states that Internet Explorer 8 version is not affected.

The vulnerability is caused by an invalid pointer reference being used within Internet Explorer. Under specific conditions it is possible to access invalid pointer after an object is deleted. By exploiting this vulnerability in specific way, Internet Explorer can be used to allow remote code execution.

People in Microsoft are aware of targeted attacks attempting to use the vulnerability. They state that they will continue to monitor the situation and take appropriate action to protect the customers.

The advisory can be found here.

Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for March 2010

Microsoft has released security updates for March 2010. This month update consists of two updates that both are categorized as important:
MS10-016: Vulnerability in Windows Movie Maker Could Allow Remote Code Execution (975561)
MS10-017: Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office Excel Could Allow Remote Code Execution (980150)

A new version of Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT) was released too.

More information can be read from the bulletin summary.

For consumer the easist way to get the update is to use Microsoft Update service.

Unpatched Vulnerability In Opera

There has been found a new vulnerability in Opera web browser. The vulnerability is caused by a buffer overflow error when processing malformed HTTP "Content-Length:" headers. By exploiting the vulnerability an attacker could make browser crash or execute arbitrary code by tricking a user into visiting a web page hosted on a malicious web server.

Affected are Opera 10.50 and earlier versions. At the moment, there is no patch available. Opera users should avoid visiting untrusted sites and clicking dubious links.

NSS Labs Browser Security Test Q1 2010 Report

NSS Labs has published a report of a test they made to compare how different browsers managed against socially-engineered malware.

Tested browsers were:
-Apple Safari 4
-Google Chrome 4
-Microsoft Internet Explorer 8
-Mozilla Firefox 3.5
-Opera 10

The test winner was Internet Explorer 8 that had won two earlier made tests too. It was able to stop 85% of malicious URLs. The second place was shared by Safari 4 and Firefox 3.5, both able to stop 29% of live threats.

The full report can be read here.

Microsoft Investigating A New Internet Explorer Related Issue

Microsoft has published a blog entry in which they state that they are investigating issue that could allow an attacker to could allow an attacker to host a maliciously crafted web page and run arbitrary code if they could convince a user to visit the web page and then get them to press the F1 key in response to a pop up dialog box.

The issue in question involves the use of VBScript and Windows Help files in Internet Explorer. Windows Help files are included in a long list of what we refer to as “unsafe file types”. These are file types that are designed to invoke automatic actions during normal use of the files.

According to Microsoft, users running Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista, are not affected by the issue.

There is not released a workaround solution for affected systems yet. Microsoft has promised to provide new information when it becomes available.