Microsoft right now launched updates to repair almost 100 safety flaws in its Home windows working methods and different software program. Highlights from the primary Patch Tuesday of 2023 embrace a zero-day vulnerability in Home windows, printer software program flaws reported by the U.S. Nationwide Safety Company, and a important Microsoft SharePoint Server bug that permits a distant, unauthenticated attacker to make an nameless connection.
At the least 11 of the patches launched right now are rated “Important” by Microsoft, that means they might be exploited by malware or malcontents to grab distant management over susceptible Home windows methods with little or no assist from customers.
Of specific concern for organizations operating Microsoft SharePoint Server is CVE-2023-21743. It is a Important safety bypass flaw that would permit a distant, unauthenticated attacker to make an nameless connection to a susceptible SharePoint server. Microsoft says this flaw is “extra more likely to be exploited” in some unspecified time in the future.
However patching this bug will not be so simple as deploying Microsoft updates. Dustin Childs, head of menace consciousness at Pattern Micro’s Zero Day Initiative, stated sysadmins have to take extra measures to be totally protected against this vulnerability.
“To completely resolve this bug, you should additionally set off a SharePoint improve motion that’s additionally included on this replace,” Childs stated. “Full particulars on how to do that are within the bulletin. Conditions like this are why individuals who scream ‘Simply patch it!’ present they’ve by no means truly needed to patch an enterprise in the actual world.”
Eighty-seven of the vulnerabilities earned Redmond’s barely much less dire “Vital” severity score. That designation describes vulnerabilities “whose exploitation may lead to compromise of the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of consumer information, or of the integrity or availability of processing sources.”
Among the many extra Vital bugs this month is CVE-2023-21674, which is an “elevation of privilege” weak spot in most supported variations of Home windows that has already been abused in energetic assaults.
Satnam Narang, senior workers analysis engineer at Tenable, stated though particulars concerning the flaw weren’t obtainable on the time Microsoft printed its advisory on Patch Tuesday, it seems this was doubtless chained along with a vulnerability in a Chromium-based browser resembling Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge in an effort to get away of a browser’s sandbox and achieve full system entry.
“Vulnerabilities like CVE-2023-21674 are usually the work of superior persistent menace (APT) teams as a part of focused assaults,” Narang stated. “The probability of future widespread exploitation of an exploit chain like that is restricted as a result of auto-update performance used to patch browsers.”
By the best way, when was the final time you utterly closed out your Internet browser and restarted it? Some browsers will robotically obtain and set up new safety updates, however the safety from these updates often solely occurs after you restart the browser.
Talking of APT teams, the U.S. Nationwide Safety Company is credited with reporting CVE-2023-21678, which is one other “essential” vulnerability within the Home windows Print Spooler software program.
There have been so many vulnerabilities patched in Microsoft’s printing software program over the previous yr (together with the dastardly PrintNightmare assaults and borked patches) that KrebsOnSecurity has joked about Patch Tuesday studies being sponsored by Print Spooler. Tenable’s Narang factors out that that is the third Print Spooler flaw the NSA has reported within the final yr.
Kevin Breen at Immersive Labs known as particular consideration to CVE-2023-21563, which is a safety function bypass in BitLocker, the information and disk encryption know-how constructed into enterprise variations of Home windows.
“For organizations which have distant customers, or customers that journey, this vulnerability could also be of curiosity,” Breen stated. “We depend on BitLocker and full-disk encryption instruments to maintain our information and information protected within the occasion a laptop computer or system is stolen. Whereas data is gentle, this seems to recommend that it might be potential for an attacker to bypass this safety and achieve entry to the underlying working system and its contents. If safety groups should not capable of apply this patch, one potential mitigation might be to make sure Distant System Administration is deployed with the power to remotely disable and wipe belongings.”
There are additionally two Microsoft Alternate vulnerabilities patched this month — CVE-2023-21762 and CVE-2023-21745. Given the rapidity with which menace actors exploit new Alternate bugs to steal company e-mail and infiltrate susceptible methods, organizations utilizing Alternate ought to patch instantly. Microsoft’s advisory says these Alternate flaws are certainly “extra more likely to be exploited.”
Adobe launched 4 patches addressing 29 flaws in Adobe Acrobat and Reader, InDesign, InCopy, and Adobe Dimension. The replace for Reader fixes 15 bugs with eight of those being ranked Important in severity (permitting arbitrary code execution if an affected system opened a specifically crafted file).
For a extra granular rundown on the updates launched right now, see the SANS Web Storm Middle roundup. Practically 100 updates is rather a lot, and there are certain to be just a few patches that trigger issues for organizations and finish customers. When that occurs, AskWoody.com often has the lowdown.
Please take into account backing up your information and/or imaging your system earlier than making use of any updates. And please hold forth within the feedback for those who expertise any issues because of these patches.
