Another big flaw has been discovered in Microsoft software just a few days after they broke their patch cycle to issue a patch for the IE bug that allowed remote code execution.
This time however it doesn’t really effect home users or the general consumer, it’s a more specific server side vulnerability affecting Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and 2005 versions. It seems pretty serious though as it also appears that this vulnerability if exploited properly could lead to remote code execution.
Just days after patching a critical flaw in its Internet Explorer browser, Microsoft is now warning users of a serious bug in its SQL Server database software. Microsoft issued a security advisory late Monday, saying that the bug could be exploited to run unauthorized software on systems running versions of Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and SQL Server 2005.Again I wonder how far behind the curve Microsoft is with this? Usually these kind of bugs have been discovered by the more malicious parties way before Microsoft has any idea that their software is vulnerable.
Attack code that exploits the bug has been published, but Microsoft said that it has not yet seen this code used in online attacks. Database servers could be attacked using this flaw if the criminals somehow found a way to log onto the system, and Web applications that suffered from relatively common SQL injection bugs could be used as stepping stones to attack the back-end database, Microsoft said.
Desktop users running the Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine or SQL Server 2005 Express could be at risk in some circumstances, Microsoft said.
It claims that the code hasn’t been used in online attacks, but honestly if it was used well by a smart party who would even know? SQL injection could lead to this attack being executed and the code is published online so I find it unlikely that it hasn’t been used.
The bug lies in a stored procedure called “sp_replwritetovarbin,” which is used by Microsoft’s software when it replicates database transactions. It was publicly disclosed on December 9 by SEC Consult Vulnerability Lab, which said it had notified Microsoft of the issue in April.The bug was discovered by someone in April this year, so that’s at least 7 months someone has known about it..but only know when the vendor discloses it then Microsoft chooses to say something about it.
“Systems with Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 Service Pack 4, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 3, and Microsoft SQL Server 2008 are not affected by this issue,” Microsoft said in its advisory.
This is the third serious bug in Microsoft’s software to be disclosed in the past month, but it is unlikely to be used in widespread attacks, according to Marc Maiffret, director of professional services, with The DigiTrust Group, a security consulting firm. “It is rather low risk given other vulnerabilities that exist,” he said via instant message. “There are a lot of better ways to currently compromise windows systems.”
It is a fairly low risk vulnerability due to the requirements needed to execute it effectively, but still it’s another chink in the Microsoft armour to add to the (long long) list.
Source: Network World