MS12-021 - Vulnerability in Visual Studio Could Allow Elevation of Privilege

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Details
Vulnerability name/brief description MS12-021 - Vulnerability in Visual Studio Could Allow Elevation of Privilege
CVE/CAN name
Vendor threat level Important
SophosLabs threat level Medium
Solution MS12-021
Vendor description This security update resolves one privately reported vulnerability in Visual Studio. The vulnerability could allow elevation of privilege if an attacker places a specially crafted add-in in the path used by Visual Studio and convinces a user with higher privileges to start Visual Studio. An attacker must have valid logon credentials and be able to log on locally to exploit this vulnerability. The vulnerability could not be exploited remotely or by anonymous users.
SophosLabs comments This update fixes how Microsoft Visual Studio loads its add-ins at startup.
SophosLabs testing result No SophosLabs testing result found
Currently known exploits No currently known exploits found
First sample seen No samples found
Discovery date 13 Mar 2012
Affected software Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1
Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 No Service Pack and Service Pack 1
References
Credits
  • MAPP
Revisions
  • March 13, 2012 - Initial analysis written

Explanation of terms

Vulnerability Name/Brief Description:

Vendor identifier plus a brief description of the type of attack.

CVE/CAN Name:

Currently assigned CVE name. If a CVE name doesn't exist the CAN name will be used until a CVE has been assigned.

Vendor Threat Level:

Threat level assigned by the vendor

SophosLabs Threat Level:

Threat level assigned by SophosLabs

  • LOW RISK - There is little chance of this vulnerability being actively exploited by malware.
  • MEDIUM RISK - There is a possibility of this vulnerability being actively exploited by malware.
  • HIGH RISK - There is a strong possibility of this vulnerability being actively exploited by malware.
  • CRITICAL RISK - This vulnerability will almost certainly be actively exploited by malware.

Solution:

Vendor-supplied Patch identifier and recommended solution, or workaround if applicable.

Vendor Description:

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SophosLabs Comments:

SophosLabs' opinions and observations of the vulnerability in question.

SophosLabs Testing Result:

Details of completed lab testing, if applicable. Please note that the lab test environment may differ significantly from user environments.

Currently Known Exploits:

List of identities for known exploits, if applicable.

First Sample Seen:

Date of the first sample seen by SophosLabs.

Discovery Date:

Date of the earliest known publically disclosed advisory.

Affected Software:

Vulnerable platforms and software versions.