February 2015 Patch Tuesday includes 9 security bulletins, and patches for non-Microsoft software

Kareem Anderson

Patch Tuesday Image

Staying true to their update cycle, Patch Tuesday rolls up another set of fixes and plugs to Windows OS. There are 12 updates found in this patch, many of which have to deal with vulnerabilities in code execution. The impact of these patches can be found in the operating system, Internet Explorer, Office, Sharepoint and System Center Virtual Machine Manager. The non Microsoft patches deal with Firefox, Chrome and Adobe’s Flash Player and have been issued prior to today.

Below is a more detailed list of exploits and patches in this Tuesday’s patch:

Security Update for Internet Explorer (3034682)
This security update resolves one publicly disclosed and forty privately reported vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer. The most severe of these vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user views a specially crafted webpage using Internet Explorer. An attacker who successfully exploited these vulnerabilities could gain the same user rights as the current user. Customers whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than those who operate with administrative user rights.

Vulnerabilities in Windows Kernel-Mode Driver Could Allow Remote Code Execution (3036220)
This security update resolves one publicly disclosed and five privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows. The most severe of the vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if an attacker convinces a user to open a specially crafted document or visit an untrusted website that contains embedded TrueType fonts.

Vulnerability in Group Policy Could Allow Remote Code Execution (3000483)
This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft Windows. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if an attacker convinces a user with a domain-configured system to connect to an attacker-controlled network. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of an affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights.

Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office Could Allow Remote Code Execution (3032328)
This security update resolves three privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office. The vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted Microsoft Office file. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerabilities could gain the same user rights as the current user. Customers whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than those who operate with administrative user rights.

Vulnerability in Microsoft Office Could Allow Security Feature Bypass (3033857)

This security update resolves one publicly disclosed vulnerability in Microsoft Office. The vulnerability could allow security feature bypass if a user opens a specially crafted Microsoft Office file. The security feature bypass by itself does not allow arbitrary code execution. However, an attacker could use this security feature bypass vulnerability in conjunction with another vulnerability, such as a remote code execution vulnerability, to run arbitrary code.

Vulnerability in Group Policy Could Allow Security Feature Bypass (3004361)
This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft Windows. The vulnerability could allow security feature bypass if an attacker, by way of a man-in-the-middle attack, causes the Group Policy Security Configuration Engine policy file on a targeted system to become corrupted or otherwise unreadable. This results in the Group Policy settings on the system to revert to their default, and potentially less secure, state.

Vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Could Allow Elevation of Privilege (3031432)
This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft Windows. The vulnerability could allow an attacker to leverage the lack of impersonation-level security checks to elevate privileges during process creation. An authenticated attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could acquire administrator credentials and use them to elevate privileges. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full administrative rights.

Vulnerability in Microsoft Graphics Component Could Allow Information Disclosure (3029944)
This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft Windows. The vulnerability could allow information disclosure if a user browses to a website containing a specially crafted TIFF image. This vulnerability would not allow an attacker to execute code or to elevate their user rights directly, but it could be used to obtain information that could be used to try to further compromise the affected system.

Vulnerability in Virtual Machine Manager Could Allow Elevation of Privilege (3035898)
This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in Virtual Machine Manager (VMM). The vulnerability could allow elevation of privilege if an attacker logs on an affected system. An attacker must have valid Active Directory logon credentials and be able to log on with those credentials to exploit the vulnerability.

Be sure to head over to Windows Updates and check for new updates. Now that these vulnerabilities have been detailed it may make it easier for attackers to take advantage of PC’s that have not been updated yet. So its recommended you always keep your PC up-to-date.