Windows 7 zero-day exploit story keeps getting grimmer
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
A new security advisory issued by Microsoft confirms independent findings about a critical security vulnerability in Windows 7, and offers advice to users who might be affected by the exploit.
The flaw is one of several that have been discovered in Microsoft's Server Message Block architecture, and well-designed exploit code could allow hackers to remotely crash affected computers via denial-of-service attacks.
Microsoft advised users of affected machines to block TCP ports 139 and 445 at the firewall, and cut off the SMB system's access to the internet until a patch can be produced and distributed. Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 are said to be vulnerable to the exploit, which could potentially be spread via malicious web pages and Microsoft Office documents.
However, the company strongly criticized the security researcher who publicized the exploit, calling the public disclosure of an important security flaw "irresponsible" and urging users to report vulnerabilities directly to the company in the future. Laurent Gaffie told ZDNet that he publicized the information due to what he characterized as a lackadaisical Microsoft response to an unrelated security flaw, which is also unpatched.
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