Spyware, viruses, & security forum: Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for December 2012

Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for December 2012

Published : December 11, 2012

Microsoft released 7 new security updates today, as part of their routine monthly security update cycle. As indicated below, five (5) are identified as critical and two (2) as Important.

The bulletins address 12 vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows, Internet Explorer, Word and Windows Server.

Microsoft also released an updated version of the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool on Windows Update, Microsoft Update, Windows Server Update Services, and the Download Center.

Critical: 5

• MS12-077 - Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer (2761465)
• MS12-078 - Vulnerabilities in Windows Kernel-Mode Drivers Could Allow Remote Code Execution (2783534)
• MS12-079 - Vulnerability in Microsoft Word Could Allow Remote Code Execution (2780642)
• MS12-080 - Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Server Could Allow Remote Code Execution (2784126)
• MS12-081 - Vulnerability in Windows File Handling Component Could Allow Remote Code Execution (2758857)

Important: 2

• MS12-082 - Vulnerability in DirectPlay Could Allow Remote Code Execution (2770660)
• MS12-083 - Vulnerability in IP-HTTPS Component Could Allow Security Feature Bypass (2765809)

Security Bulletin : http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/security/bulletin/ms12-dec

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From Dustin Childs @ the Microsoft Security Response Center Blog:

For those who need to prioritize deployment, we recommend focusing on the following two critical updates first:

MS12-077 (Internet Explorer)

This security update addresses three Critical-class Internet Explorer issues that could result in remote code execution. These issues exist in all versions of IE, but there is no evidence that they are known publically or under exploit in the wild. You'll notice there is no severity rating for IE versions prior to IE 9. On these versions, the update is a defense-in-depth change only. Although there are no known attack vectors for these versions, we still recommend that our customers using these versions apply the update.

MS12-079 (Microsoft Word)

This security update resolves one issue in Microsoft Word. This bulletin has a Critical severity rating and can result in remote code execution. An attacker could run code in the context of the logged-on user if they were to open a specially crafted Rich Text Format (RTF) file, or preview or open a specially-crafted RTF email message in Outlook while using Microsoft Word as the email viewer. This issue was privately disclosed and we're not aware of any attacks or customer impact.

Security Advisory 2755801

With this month's release, we are also revising Security Advisory 2755801 to address issues in Adobe Flash Player in IE 10. This is a cumulative update, which means customers do not need to install previous updates as a prerequisite for installing the current update. We remain committed to working closely with Adobe to deliver quality protections that are aligned with Adobe's update process.

Continued : http://blogs.technet.com/b/msrc/archive/2012/12/11/it-s-that-time-of-year-for-the-december-2012-bulletin-release.aspx

Also See: Assessing risk for the December 2012 security updates