Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cybersecurity
    • Cybersecurity

    Microsoft Graphics Bug Threatens Systems

    Written by

    Larry Seltzer
    Published September 14, 2004
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

      Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday offered patches for two serious vulnerabilities in its products. One of the security breaches—taking advantage of the action from a tweaked image file—compromises a wide range of Microsoft products, including server and client operating systems as well as applications such as e-mail.

      However, this “Patch Tuesday,” following the August release of Windows XP SP2 (Service Pack 2), appeared to sidestep concerns over whether Microsoft will provide different patches for XP SP1 and XP SP2 installations. The patches released on Tuesday addressed issues with SP1 and other Microsoft applications.

      /zimages/3/28571.gifClick here to read more about Microsoft Patch Day: The Next Generation.

      The more serious of the two vulnerabilities allows a specially malformed JPEG graphic file—when viewed in any of a large number of Microsoft products—to compromise the system, allowing execution of any attack code.

      The second also allows remote code execution through a bug in the Word Perfect file converter. Microsoft said both bugs were reported privately to the company and had not been revealed until the release of the patch.

      The JPEG bug, an error in the GDI+ Type Library, has the potential for widespread damage, as it can be delivered through an HTML e-mail. Once an exploit of the problem runs on a system, it can run any code allowed under the users permissions.

      The advisory for the JPEG bug lists Windows XP; Windows Server 2003; Office XP and 2003; numerous versions of Microsoft Project; Visio and Visual Studio.NET; and many other consumer and professional products affected by the issue, including:

      • The Microsoft .NET Framework version 1.0
      • Microsoft Picture It 2002 (all versions)
      • Microsoft Greetings 2002
      • Microsoft Picture It! version 7.0 (all versions)
      • Microsoft Digital Image Pro version 7.0
      • Microsoft Picture It! version 9 (all versions, including Picture It! library)
      • Microsoft Digital Image Pro version 9
      • Microsoft Digital Image Suite version 9
      • Microsoft Producer for Microsoft Office PowerPoint (all versions)
      • Microsoft Platform SDK Redistributable

      Windows XP SP2 (Service Pack 2) is not affected, but many SP2 users will need to acquire patches for vulnerable applications they use. By default, Windows 98, ME, NT and 2000 are not vulnerable, but any of the vulnerable applications would be vulnerable when running on them.

      /zimages/3/28571.gifFor insights on security coverage around the Web, check out eWEEK.com Security Center Editor Larry Seltzers Weblog.

      Security experts considered the new graphics vulnerability a real threat.

      Russ Cooper, senior scientist at TruSecure Corp., of Herndon, Va., and editor of the NTBugtraq security mailing list, said he was distressed at the potential for this vulnerability to spread through HTML e-mail. He compared it with the so-called Good Times Virus, a hoax perpetrated a decade ago about a virus users could get simply by reading an e-mail. However, in the case of the JPEG bug, the vulnerability is all too real.

      Cooper also wondered “why XP SP2 contained a revised GDIPLUS.dll [the vulnerable graphics component], which wasnt vulnerable, yet earlier versions waited a month to get theirs.”

      Microsoft was unavailable for comment.

      Craig Schmugar, virus research manager at McAfee Avert, called the problem “potentially very serious” due to its ability to run arbitrary code. He noted that McAfee Inc. has seen no proof-of-concept code for either vulnerability announced Tuesday. But he added, “Often, the release of the patch itself leads to exploits, as attackers reverse-engineer the patch code in order to learn what its fixing. Hopefully, it wont come to that.”

      Due to performance considerations, anti-virus products typically dont scan nonexecutable files such as JPEGs, so Schmugar said an IDS (intrusion-detection system) or IPS (intrusion-prevention system) such as McAfee Intercept—which look for behavior such as buffer overflows in a generic manner—offer a better solution.

      This Windows JPEG flaw is the latest in a string of vulnerabilities relating to graphics formats and image-handling libraries in multiple operating systems and browser platforms.

      In August, a security researcher uncovered multiple vulnerabilities in libpng, the PNG (Portable Networks Graphic) library. The flaw required an update to a number of open-source projects, including browsers and image-rendering engines such as Ghostscript.

      /zimages/3/28571.gifRead more here about vulnerabilities in libraries that can affect many disparate applications.

      Microsoft in late July also released an out-of-order security bulletin to cover two vulnerabilities relating to Internet Explorers handling of BMP and GIF image files. The flaw could be used for a denial-of-service attack as well as to execute arbitrary code, the Redmond, Wash. Software maker said at the time.

      According to Microsofts advisory on Tuesday, the bug in the Word Perfect converter version 5.x, also a buffer overflow, requires the attacker to construct a special file and persuade the user to run the Word Perfect converter on the file.

      Once the user does this, attack code within the file could perform any action permitted to the user. If the user were logged on as an administrator, for example, the attack would have full system privileges. Because the user would need to be persuaded to read the file into the program, Microsoft called the problem “important” rather than critical.

      The Word Perfect converter is a component of Microsoft Office 2000; Office XP (2002); Office 2003; and Works Suites 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004. Links to the appropriate patches for this bug may be found on the advisory page.

      /zimages/3/28571.gifClick here for Larry Seltzers take on how Windows XP SP2 could affect Microsofts patching strategies.

      Editors Note: This story was updated to include additional information from security researchers.

      /zimages/3/28571.gifCheck out eWEEK.coms Security Center at http://security.eweek.com for security news, views and analysis.

      /zimages/3/77042.gif

      Be sure to add our eWEEK.com security news feed to your RSS newsreader or My Yahoo page: /zimages/3/19420.gif http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/my/addtomyyahoo2.gif

      Larry Seltzer
      Larry Seltzer
      Larry Seltzer has been writing software for and English about computers ever since—,much to his own amazement— He was one of the authors of NPL and NPL-R, fourth-generation languages for microcomputers by the now-defunct DeskTop Software Corporation. (Larry is sad to find absolutely no hits on any of these +products on Google.) His work at Desktop Software included programming the UCSD p-System, a virtual machine-based operating system with portable binaries that pre-dated Java by more than 10 years.For several years, he wrote corporate software for Mathematica Policy Research (they're still in business!) and Chase Econometrics (not so lucky) before being forcibly thrown into the consulting market. He bummed around the Philadelphia consulting and contract-programming scenes for a year or two before taking a job at NSTL (National Software Testing Labs) developing product tests and managing contract testing for the computer industry, governments and publication.In 1991 Larry moved to Massachusetts to become Technical Director of PC Week Labs (now eWeek Labs). He moved within Ziff Davis to New York in 1994 to run testing at Windows Sources. In 1995, he became Technical Director for Internet product testing at PC Magazine and stayed there till 1998.Since then, he has been writing for numerous other publications, including Fortune Small Business, Windows 2000 Magazine (now Windows and .NET Magazine), ZDNet and Sam Whitmore's Media Survey.

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Artificial Intelligence

      9 Best AI 3D Generators You Need...

      Sam Rinko - June 25, 2024 0
      AI 3D Generators are powerful tools for many different industries. Discover the best AI 3D Generators, and learn which is best for your specific use case.
      Read more
      Cloud

      RingCentral Expands Its Collaboration Platform

      Zeus Kerravala - November 22, 2023 0
      RingCentral adds AI-enabled contact center and hybrid event products to its suite of collaboration services.
      Read more
      Artificial Intelligence

      8 Best AI Data Analytics Software &...

      Aminu Abdullahi - January 18, 2024 0
      Learn the top AI data analytics software to use. Compare AI data analytics solutions & features to make the best choice for your business.
      Read more
      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Video

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2024 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×