Microsoft Issues Stopgap Fix for ‘Duqu’ Flaw

Summary: Microsoft released an advisory and a point-and-click Fixit tool to disable the vulnerable Windows component exploited by the Duqu Trojan, a flaw in the Win32k TrueType font parsing engine affecting most supported versions of Windows including XP, Vista and Windows 7. Microsoft said an attacker exploiting the flaw could run arbitrary code in kernel mode, install programs, view, change or delete data, or create new accounts with full user rights, with a poisoned email attachment the most likely vehicle, and that a formal security update was still in development.
What's compelling: The stopgap itself carried a known bug: applying the Fixit caused Windows Update to repeatedly reoffer and fail to install KB972270 and KB982132, and some users who removed the Fixit to stop the loop were left with the vulnerable component exposed while they waited for an official patch.

Read the original at Krebs on Security ↗

Topics: Vulnerabilities & Patching
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