Vista Users Beware Potential SMB Worm
I should say Vista users…and Windows 7 RC users. Apparently Microsoft resolved the issue in question somewhere between the release candidate (RC) and release to manufacturing (RTM) versions of Windows 7. But, I digress…
This past Tuesday was Patch Tuesday for September. Microsoft released 5 new Security Bulletins, all of them rated as Critical. Obviously, you should be aware of these Critical Security Bulletins and apply any patches or updates necessary to protect your PC. The bigger news though was the Security Advisory Microsoft released in the immediate wake of the Patch Tuesday Security Bulletins.
The Security Advisory warns of a serious security issue with the SMB protocol in Windows Vista (and the aforementioned Windows 7 RC). Initial reports suggested that attempts to exploit the flaw would only crash the vulnerable system, but that was later amended to suggest that the vulnerability could allow an attacker to execute malicious code on the vulnerable system…without user intervention.
Now the race is on for attackers to develop a worm that exploits the flaw before Microsoft can patch it. In the meantime, there are some things you can do to protect yourself in case the hackers win the race. Check out Race is On to Patch Critical Windows Flaw for more details.