The following cyber advisory was issued by the New York State Office of Information Technology Services and is
intended for State government entities. The information may or may not be applicable to the
general public and, accordingly, the State does not warrant its use for any specific purposes.
ITS ADVISORY NUMBER:
2012-086
DATE(S) ISSUED:
11/13/2012
SUBJECT:
Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer (MS12-071)
OVERVIEW:
Multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in Microsoft's web browser, Internet Explorer, which could allow an attacker to take complete control of an affected system. Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities could result in an attacker gaining the same privileges as the logged on user. Depending on the privileges associated with the user, an attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights.
SYSTEMS AFFECTED:
RISK:
Government:
- Large and medium government entities: High
- Small government entities: High
Businesses:
- Large and medium business entities: High
- Small business entities: High
Home users: High
DESCRIPTION:
Three remote code execution vulnerabilities have been discovered in Internet Explorer. These vulnerabilities occur due to the way Internet Explorer accesses objects in memory that have not been properly initialized or deleted. These may be exploited if a user visits a web page that is specifically crafted to take advantage of the vulnerabilities. Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities could result in an attacker gaining the same privileges as the logged on user. Depending on the privileges associated with the user, an attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
We recommend the following actions be taken:
- Apply appropriate patches provided by Microsoft to vulnerable systems immediately after appropriate testing.
- Run all software as a non-privileged user (one without administrative privileges) to diminish the effects of a successful attack.
- Remind users not to visit un-trusted websites or follow links provided by unknown or un-trusted sources.
REFERENCES:
Microsoft:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/security/bulletin/ms12-071
CVE:
http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2012-1538
http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2012-1539
http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2012-4775
Security Focus:
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/56420
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/56421
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/56422
