Microsoft has acknowledged that it is working on a patch for a potentially serious security hole in fully patched versions of Windows XP Service Pack 2.
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Member since:
2005-07-06
Member since:
2005-07-06
...to us Winbloze users this really doesn't come as a surprise. This is why I feel that Linux has an edge (which is why I'll be migrating soon), due to their zero-day (or sometimes slightly longer) policy of releasing patches. If M$ was really serious about security, they should've adopted this policy instead of their "second-Tuesday-of-the-month" crap.
Member since:2005-07-07
Is there something religious with this second Tuesday of the month thing at Redmond?
Perhaps this is M$ "absolution day of the month", when their patch factory absolves Microserfs for the past mistakes and sins by releasing patches. The fact that they barely work seems to be another matter altogether.
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Member since:2005-07-06
The discovery has triggered lots of discussions on security mailing lists, with some experts claiming there is a chance that the bug could be used to execute code remotely.
Missed that part, huh?
Regardless of what it can or can't do, sitting on a security flaw for 3 months is completely unaccceptable in my book.
Member since:
2005-07-07
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I would imagine that even with a hardware firewall/router, if you were using the remote desktop, you'd have to open up a port to use it, which would probably expose you.
This is why I have always been avoided using things like VNC, Radmin, PC Anywhere, etc. Seems there's always a hole somewhere. A friend of mine got his box hacked through VNC, even after he supposedly uninstalled it. And then there's another worm floating around exploiting weak passwords in Radmin.
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>>>Regardless of what it can or can't do, sitting on a security flaw for 3 months is completely unaccceptable in my book.
Usually the guy who found the flaw bad mouths microsoft for being to slow to come up with the patch and microsoft bad mouths the security researcher for announcing the flaw before a patch is available.
There was no bad mouthing from badpack3t and microsoft --- which really you that the 3 month wait is acceptable from both sides.
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"Until and unless somebody figures out how to exploit this hole and publishes the exploit to cause remote execution of arbitrary code, you'll think it's not possible."
This shows you dont understand the fundamental part. Every exploit should be assumed to be exploitable by the vendor unless proven otherwise
Its a rather basic approach to system security
SELinux for example has been based on the assumption that ALL code in insecure by default
http://www.nsa.gov/selinux/papers/inevit-abs.cfm
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Finger pointing at Microsoft for being too slow. Finger pointing at security guys for being too quick to report. Neither of which has happened by either MS or badpack3t, as pointed out above. Nope, just us zealots pointing and shouting "HA! See how much Mic0r$0ft sux0rs?"
That kinda stuff really doesn't help. Correct me if I'm wrong, but since RDP uses specific ports, couldn't your average Intranet firewall block them, and only open the ones that are absolutely essential on an as-needed, very-specific basis? Shouldn't we, as administrators, be doing this anyway?
Just my .02, ymmv.
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I could care less about this exploit myself. Maybe if some folks just got in the mode of thinking by default "I don't need that, I don't want to risk it.." then they wouldn't have anything to moan and groan about. But who would post on OS News if they didn't have a reason to flame. 
The folks who have this service open without a need for it will get what they had comming all along. The rest of us admins will keep reading news sites, drinking coffee, enjoying life, and we'll only worry about what we're gonna have for lunch today. (not really, but wouldn't it be nice.)
