A security company called Prevx, with the help of some Chinese forum users, have found a zero-day exploit for Windows which bypasses User Account Control, one of the operating system’s primary security features.

The problem is with a file called win32k.sys, and it is a “local privilege escalation exploit” which can be exploited on a machine which already has malware installed. The bug primarily effect users of Windows 7 and Windows Vista, though Prevx reports that the flaw is also present in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, 2008, and 2008 R2. Microsoft has been alerted of the problem but has not yet issued a fix. The company sometimes issues out-of-band patches for zero-day exploits, but usually such security fixes are issued via Windows Update on “Patch Tuesday,” which is the second Tuesday of every month.

User Account Control was one of Windows Vista’s most controversial new features when it launched in 2006 – it kept users more secure by requiring confirmation when a change was being made to the system, but it did so via countless confirmation prompts that many users turned off or simply ignored.

The feature was dialed back in Windows 7 by default to encourage more people to leave it on, and these efforts largely succeeded. UAC still pops up when a third-party program or pluton wants to make a change to the system, but no longer requires confirmation when working with things built-in to the operating system (such as most of the Control Panel applets).

As always, we recommend that you keep your system up-to-date with Windows and/or Microsoft Update, and with a good anti-malware product. If you don’t already have one, Microsoft’s Security Essentials product provides decent free virus protection to all genuine Windows users.

Sources: Prevx

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Microsoft has released the System Update Readiness Tool for the Windows 7 Release Candidate that is fixing a problem that was discovered in the Windows servicing store which could prevent the successful installation of updates, service packs and software. The tool checks the computer system for these problems and tries to fix them if they are found.

Users can download the System Update Readiness Tool directly from Microsoft. The download of the 32-bit tool has a size of 8.9 Megabytes, the 64-bit client a size of 32 Megabytes.

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Microsoft is limited the number of half open connections in all their operating systems since Windows XP Service Pack 2 including Windows 7 in an effort to reduce the impact of the individual system on the distribution of malicious software. This can mean unnecessary slow downs on computer systems that operate applications that establish lots of connections in short time. This is for example the case with P2P applications and other server applications.

Patches have been released for all affected Windows operating systems including Windows 7. Half Open Limit Fix is just one application that can patch the tcpip.sys file to change the number of half open connections on the Windows 7 operating system.

The application will display the current half open connection size and offer another field that can be used to change the limit. The developers are suggesting setting the limit to 100. A good indicator if patching the tcpip.sys file is necessary at all is to look at the Event log to see if there are any EventID 4226 errors (TCP/IP has reached the security limit imposed on the number of concurrent TCP connect attempts.). If that is the case the computer is slowed down by the limit and it is recommended to patch the file to increase the output.

The software is listed to work with both 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows 7 Beta. Could work with later builds as well.

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Microsoft has released an update for Windows 7 Beta that is supposed to resolve issues with non-compatible applications. The download page at the Microsoft website links to a Knowledge Base article that is currently not available which means it is currently not clear which issues have been resolved by the update. The Windows 7 update has a size of only 1.6 Megabytes and it might require a restart of the computer after installation.

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Reports early this week suggested a bug in the Windows 7 Beta that cut of parts of the beginning of mp3 files under certain circumstances. The bug was later confirmed by Microsoft officials who reassured the public that the issue would not be a problem in the public beta release of Windows 7. Microsoft has released a patch for the mp3 bug that only Technet or MSDN subscribers can download currently from official sources. Many websites (Redmondpie) have posted the patch on their website from where it can be downloaded and applied on 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows 7.

Microsoft confirmed that the patch will be supplied via automatic updates and that a public Knowledgebase article is in the making. It is probably safe to say that automatic updates will list the page before January 9 to ensure that all beta downloaders get the patch before they start working with mp3 files on Windows 7.

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Microsoft has released an update for Windows 7 pre-beta that resolves a problem that some testers discovered with external NTFS drives. The update improve the reliability and operation of an external NTFS drive according to Microsoft and can be downloaded from Windows Update. A reboot of the computer might be required after installation.

The Microsoft Knowledgebase article is not mentioning the cause of the problem. This is the second update that has been released for a pre-beta build of Windows 7. The first update fixed a security vulnerability that affected all Windows operating systems.

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Microsoft has locked some of the upcoming features in the Windows 7 release that they distributed among attendees of the Professional Developers Conference 08 in Los Angeles. The build has made its way on various P2P sites shortly thereafter and is now in the hands of thousands of additional users who downloaded it from there. Features came to light shortly after the end of the conference that had been locked by Microsoft. Unlocking those features involved fiddling around with the command line which is not to everyone’s liking.

The Blue Badge tool changes and simplifies the process. Rafael Rivera created the tool over at Within Windows. The 32-bit edition of the software program is already available while the 64-bit edition is expected to be released tomorrow. A total of nine files will be patched by the tool. Please note that the files will not be backed up before applying the patches. Make sure to back them up before applying the patches. Here is the file list:

• WindowsExplorer.exe
• WindowsSystem32wisptis.exe
• WindowsSystem32ieframe.dll
• WindowsSystem32shell32.dll
• WindowsSystem32stobject.dll
• WindowsSystem32TabletPC.cpl
• WindowsSystem32themecpl.dll
• WindowsSystem32themeui.dll
• WindowsSystem32powercfg.cpl

It should also be noted that the patch is compatible with previously patched versions.

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Security sites around the web reported on a out-of-cycle patch that Microsoft would release on October 23 that would fix a security vulnerability affecting most Windows operating systems. The vulnerability was rated critical on Windows XP, Windows 2000 and Windows 2003 and important on Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7. According to Tech Herald security editor Steve Ragan the vulnerability exploits the Server service which is enabled by default on the operating systems where it was rated critical. The vulnerability could be triggered on unpatched systems by sending a malicious RPC request to the target system.

Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7 require authentication and the vulnerability has therefor been rated as important on those systems:

“Default installations of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 require authentication due to protections introduced as part of UAC that enforce additional levels of integrity. This protection is in place even if the UAC prompt is disabled. Even after authentication, ASLR and DEP enhancements will present obstacles to exploitation,” the company added in their EI notes.

The update is already available on the Microsoft Download website and on Windows Update. The interesting part related to Windows 7 is the fact that this vulnerability is also affecting the upcoming Windows 7 operating system and therefor the first official security patch for that operating system published by Microsoft.

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