Update: February '10 Patch Tuesday Causes Problems to Some Users
During this month’s Patch Tuesday, Microsoft released a whopping 13 security bulletins that fixed a grand total of 26 security vulnerabilities. The vulnerabilities in question plagued all versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system and older versions of the Microsoft Office productivity suite (not Office 2007 and 2008).
As soon as Microsoft released the 13 bulletins mentioned above, it came to light that one bulletin caused problems to some users. After installing the Patch Tuesday updates, some Windows XP users started getting the dreaded Blue Screen of Death (BSOD). Microsoft launched an investigation and the initial analysis showed that security bulletin MS10-015 may be to blame. For the duration of the investigation, Microsoft decided to take down bulletin MS10-015.
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Here are the details on MS10-015: Title: Vulnerabilities in Windows Kernel Could Allow Elevation of Privilege Rating: Important Description: One publicly disclosed and one privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft Windows. The vulnerabilities could allow elevation of privilege if an attacker logged on to the system and then ran a specially crafted application. To exploit either vulnerability, an attacker must have valid logon credentials and be able to log on locally. The vulnerabilities could not be exploited remotely or by anonymous users. Most likely attack vector: Attacker already able to execute code as low-privileged user escalates privileges. Affected software: Microsoft Windows.
Now here’s the update on the MS10-015 situation: Microsoft has determined that the security bulletin is not to blame for the problems a limited number of users are experiencing. Malware present on the system may be to blame.
Senior Security Communications Manager Lead with the Microsoft Security Response Center, Jerry Bryant explains: “In our continuing investigation in to the restart issues related to MS10-015 that a limited number of customers are experiencing, we have determined that malware on the system can cause the behavior. We are not yet ruling out other potential causes at this time and are still investigating.”
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