[ISN] Tracking Zero-Day Vulnerabilities

From: InfoSec News (alerts@private)
Date: Thu Dec 14 2006 - 00:33:00 PST


Forwarded from: Security UPDATE <Security_UPDATE (at) list.windowsitpro.com>

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=== CONTENTS ===================================================

IN FOCUS: Tracking Zero-Day Vulnerabilities 

NEWS AND FEATURES
   - FastMP3Search Dubbed Baddest of the Bad
   - Websense Now Protects Citrix-based Virtual Applications
   - Microsoft Word Vulnerable to Remote Code Execution
   - Recent Security Vulnerabilities

GIVE AND TAKE
   - Security Matters Blog: Zero-Day Tracker
   - FAQ: A PowerShell Command's Function
   - From the Forum: Seeking IDS Suggestions
   - Share Your Security Tips
   - IT Pro of the Month--November 2006 Winner

PRODUCTS
   - Improved Spam Filter for Postfix
   - Wanted: Your Reviews of Products 

RESOURCES AND EVENTS

FEATURED WHITE PAPER

ANNOUNCEMENTS


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=== IN FOCUS: Tracking Zero-Day Vulnerabilities ================
   by Mark Joseph Edwards, News Editor, mark at ntsecurity / net

Zero-day vulnerabilities (vulnerabilities that are published before the 
vendor has made a fix available) have been a part of computing since 
computers were invented. Publishing information about vulnerabilities 
too soon places the public at extreme risk, so you need to know about 
zero-day vulnerabilities as soon as possible. 

You can learn about new vulnerabilities through many channels. Mailing 
lists are the primary method for disclosing zero-day vulnerabilities, 
so you should subscribe to those lists that you think are important for 
your security work. Web sites are another source of information about 
zero-day vulnerabilities, and several track both vulnerabilities and 
associated exploit code. 

eEye Digital Security recently launched a new site called Zero-Day 
Tracker. Although the eEye Research Team doesn't always post zero-day 
vulnerabilities on day zero, you will find that new vulnerabilities do 
appear on the site within a few days of their publication. What I find 
most interesting about the site is that not only can you use it to 
learn about new vulnerabilities, but you can use it to mine data 
related to how vendors respond to zero-day vulnerabilities. 
   http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=435E2:7EB890

The site tracks the date of publication of new zero-day vulnerabilities 
along with their perceived severity level, and eventually the date the 
vendor releases a patch. This data provides a clear view of how long 
the public is exposed to a given risk before the vendor provides some 
sort of official fix to correct the problem. 

For example, a quick glance at the site shows five high-risk 
vulnerabilities in Microsoft products for which there is no patch. As I 
write this, the newest of those is a Word vulnerability published a 
couple days ago, and the oldest is a problem with an ActiveX control in 
Visual Studio 2005 that has remained unpatched for 124 days. 

You can view similar data for vulnerabilities for which the vendor has 
released a patch. And the site doesn't confine itself to Microsoft 
vulnerabilities, it also lists other mainstream vendors that provide 
solutions for Windows platforms. So if you need to catch up on new 
vulnerabilities and exploits for Windows-related products, the site is 
a good place to visit. Consider bookmarking it. 

Speaking of zero-day vulnerabilities, Windows Vista, recently released 
to enterprises, has one, but it primarily affects Microsoft itself and 
not so much the users of Vista.

Microsoft publishes a key management service that lets enterprise users 
of Vista handle product activation without contacting Microsoft. With 
the key management service in place, Vista periodically contacts the 
service to keep the OS activated, and therein resides the 
vulnerability. 

Someone figured out how the key management service works, created a 
hacked version, and published it on the Internet as an easily loadable 
virtual machine (VM) image. So now people can download a copy of that 
VM, place it on their network, and effectively run pirated copies of 
Vista. This of course will cost Microsoft a lot of money in lost 
licensing fees. 

You might consider taking a look at the VM to figure out ways to detect 
it so that you can ensure that nobody runs a copy on your network. You 
can find a link to it on various Torrent tracker sites and standalone 
Web sites. To find related info, search the Internet for the string 
"Microsoft.Windows.Vista.Local.Activation.Server-MelindaGates".


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=== SECURITY NEWS AND FEATURES =================================

FastMP3Search Dubbed Baddest of the Bad
   StopBadware.org undertakes an initiative to fight a plug-in that 
secretly disables Windows Firewall and downloads several other malware 
packages. 
   http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=435E4:7EB890

Websense Now Protects Citrix-based Virtual Applications
   Websense Enterprise and Websense Web Security Suite have been 
integrated with Citrix Presentation Server 3.0 and 4.0 to protect 
browsers, email clients, and other applications.
   http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=435E6:7EB890

Microsoft Word Vulnerable to Remote Code Execution
   A newly reported vulnerability in Microsoft Word could allow an 
intruder to launch remote code on an affected system.
   http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=435E5:7EB890

Recent Security Vulnerabilities
   If you subscribe to this newsletter, you also receive Security 
Alerts, which inform you about recently discovered security 
vulnerabilities. You can also find information about these 
discoveries at
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=== GIVE AND TAKE ==============================================

SECURITY MATTERS BLOG: Zero-Day Tracker 
   by Mark Joseph Edwards, http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=435EB:7EB890

eEye Digital Security has a new Zero-Day Tracker Web site. Now if it 
would only post information about zero-day vulnerabilities on day 
zero....
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FAQ: A PowerShell Command's Function
   by John Savill, http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=435E9:7EB890 

Q: How can I determine what a Windows PowerShell command will do?

Find the answer at
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FROM THE FORUM: Seeking IDS Suggestions
   A forum participant is looking for both a host-based and network-
based intrusion detection system (IDS). Any recommendations or 
experiences to share? Offer your input at:
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=== PRODUCTS ===================================================
   by Renee Munshi, products@private

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=== RESOURCES AND EVENTS =======================================
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=== ANNOUNCEMENTS ==============================================

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