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Shaun Nichols at El Reg notes the latest Patch Tuesday
Microsoft has today patched two dozen CVE-classified security vulnerabilities in its software. People are urged to install them as soon as possible.
The US giant said the October edition of Patch Tuesday includes three critical fixes to address flaws in Internet Explorer, the .NET Framework and Windows kernel-mode driver.
[...]
MS14-061 - An 'important' rated vulnerability (CVE-2014-4117) in Office that allows an attacker to use malicious Word files to achieve remote code execution at the level of the logged-in user. The flaw can be mitigated by limiting the access rights of user accounts. The flaw is also present in Office for Mac. The discovery is credited to 35 Labs via the HP Zero Day Initiative.
[...]
And Adobe's software is still riddled with holes.
Adobe, meanwhile, has released its own monthly patch update. That patch will include a fix for three remote-code execution flaws in Flash Player for Windows, OS X, and Linux. Adobe is also patching a trio of flaws in ColdFusion allowing elevation of privilege and security control bypass.
[Update 1]: Corrected title as these vulnerabilities are not restricted to Windows.
[Update 2]: There are also reports of remote code execution and privilege elevation vulnerabilities across Solaris, Linux and Windows, via Java and Oracle: http://threatpost.com/java-reflection-api-woes-resurface-in-latest-oracle-patches/108847.
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Thursday October 16 2014, @06:46PM
I made the switch to linux in the Windows ME days, and then later, when I wanted to have frustration free options for watching online video, I got a Mac laptop. I've been running linux on my desktops and on one laptop, and OSX on my main laptop for a decade. So in reading the summary, it sounds like there is flaw that affects MS Office whether running in Windows or OSX, and an adobe flaw that is basically universal. Then of course we have the BASH flaw that's been around for years and years.
And who cares if these flaws only affect user accounts -- the user account is where people store all of their information. Compromising a user account is at least a 90% win.
Computers are so complex and run so much varied software that flaws are inevitable. And so while I used to be in the "haha I run linux [or OSX]" crowd -- over the last several years I've piped down. Because the truth is, every system is undoubtedly deeply flawed and I now look at all of my systems as disease ridden traps so long as they are connected to the internet.
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Thursday October 16 2014, @06:50PM
Well, the math is wrong here. Went 100% linux desktop around 2000, added a linux laptop 2004ish, OSX laptop since 2006ish.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Thursday October 16 2014, @06:51PM
Adding new functionality all the time is the culprint and complexity of course.
(Score: 2) by sudo rm -rf on Thursday October 16 2014, @07:09PM
I ... try hard ... not to... mention ... the you-know-what daemon ...
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Thursday October 16 2014, @07:45PM
The daemon author is possessed by RedHat? ;-)
(Score: 2) by tibman on Friday October 17 2014, @12:42AM
I heard recently that it went the other way around.
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(Score: 2) by kaszz on Friday October 17 2014, @01:12AM
Must be really bad then. Makes you wonder who has possessed him..
(Score: 2) by Arik on Thursday October 16 2014, @10:42PM
It's bigger than that, but that's a big part, yeah.
But even if they were somehow pursuaded to freeze a spec instead of constantly throwing in whatever marketing wants, dont imagine they would put all that suddenly idle developer power to work re-architecting a sane system. They would just cut manpower costs instead.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Friday October 17 2014, @12:42AM
Sounds like a control loop. So the problem is the group of people that decides the parameters of said system.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 16 2014, @09:36PM
Then of course we have the BASH flaw that's been around for years and years
...which made headlines because it's such a *rare* event.
Meanwhile, this month alone, M$ admits to TWENTY-FOUR flaws[1] for which they produced patches--3 of which it admits are critical.
Now, how many exploits were written against each of those?
How many Windoze boxes were exploited while folks waited for Patch Tuesday to roll around?
Now, how many flaws does M$ -know- about but won't patch?
Now, let's look back at the critical flaws M$ admits to for all of 2014. [google.com]
Feel free at this point to mention all the critical flaws in competing ecosystems which made headlines because of their severity.
(Now would be a good time to compare time-to-patch as well.)
...and, of course, media reaction to -actual- exploits against M$'s numerous flaws (even when they are widespread) is muted because those are not only common, they are EXPECTED.
-- gewg_
(Score: 2) by el_oscuro on Friday October 17 2014, @01:35AM
On Linux, there is a way to protect your user account from these types of compromises:
1. Install and configure ssh server
2. Create an unprivileged account (nobody?) to run the browser in
3. Set up passwordless authentication using ssh-copy-id to connect to unprivileged account on localhost
4. Set up a desktop shortcut which ssh's to that account and runs firefox or whatever browser you use.
5. Use that shortcut to browse teh Interwebs. That way if get pwned by a userland exploit, it only affects the nobody account, not your real account.
Only use the regular browser shortcut for things like banks, amazon, paypal, etc.
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 17 2014, @04:40PM
this is why i'm still more comfortable using windows than linux or mac osx. anti-virus software for windows seems much more advanced and mature.