Disable Gadgets NOW says Redmond
Remote execution vuln
Posted in Security, 11th July 2012 23:25 GMT
Watch Now : Virtual Machine Movement with Hyper-V
Microsoft has advised Vista and Windows 7 users to put Gadgets and the Windows Sidebar to the sword, following the revelation of yet-to-be-detailed remote code execution vulnerabilities in the features.
Redmond issued this advisory ahead of an upcoming Black Hat presentation by Mickey Shkatov and Toby Kohlenberg. The two have promised to reveal “interesting attack vectors” in a presentation called “We Have You By The Gadgets”.
Microsoft hasn’t provided any further information about the vulnerability, other than to say that users could install insecure Gadgets that enable remote code execution.
“Gadgets installed from untrusted sources can harm your computer and can access your computer’s files, show you objectionable content, or change their behavior at any time,” Microsoft notes.
Since Gadgets run with the rights of the current user, the vulnerability could allow exploits all the way up to administrative level.
The Microsoft fix disables the Windows Sidebar and Gadgets on all supported Vista and Windows 7 editions.
The unloved Sidebar feature for Gadgets was killed off in Windows 8, as was the Windows Live Gallery used to access Gadgets from the desktop. ®
Send corrections
Data control in the cloud
The new Office Garage series:
IT infrastructure monitoring strategies
