Sophos

Online support

Product maintenance

Contact support

Support services

Download Free hard drive encryption - Download a trial of SafeGuard Easy

Vulnerability: MS09-056 - Important Vulnerabilities in Windows CryptoAPI Could Allow Spoofing (974571)

Back to Latest vulnerabilities homepage

Click any highlighted term for further explanation.

 Details
Vulnerability name/brief description

MS09-056 - Important Vulnerabilities in Windows CryptoAPI Could Allow Spoofing (974571)

CVE/CAN name

CVE-2009-2510, CVE-2009-2511

Vendor threat levelImportant
SophosLabs threat levelLow
Solution

MS09-056

Vendor description

This security update resolves two publicly disclosed vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows. The vulnerabilities could allow spoofing if an attacker gains access to the certificate used by the end user for authentication.

The security update addresses the vulnerabilities by modifying the CryptoAPI to reject certificate names that contain null terminators, and to correctly validate ASN.1 object identifiers.

These vulnerabilities may lead to a situation where an attacker could impersonate another user or system.

SophosLabs comments

This update addresses 2 publicly disclosed spoofing vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows.

Vulnerable systems could be exploited via client applications that browse HTTPS Web sites, or use X.509 for certificates, for instance to protect e-mail conversations. These spoofing vulnerabilities exist in the Microsoft Windows CryptoAPI component when parsing ASN.1 information and ASN.1 object identifiers from X.509 certificates.

An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could impersonate another user or system. When combined with specific other attacks, such as DNS spoofing, this may allow an attacker to successfully spoof the digital certificate of a Web site for any application that uses the CryptoAPI.

SophosLabs testing resultN/A
Currently known exploitsAt the time of writing SophosLabs have not observed any malware attempting to exploit this vulnerability. Should this situation change samples will be analyzed and we will take action as necessary.
First sample seenN/A
Discovery date13 October 2009
Affected software

Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4
Windows XP Service Pack 2 and Windows XP Service Pack 3
Windows XP Professional x64 Edition Service Pack 2
Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2
Windows Server 2003 with SP2 for Itanium-based Systems
Windows Vista, Windows Vista Service Pack 1, and Windows Vista Service Pack 2
Windows Vista x64 Edition, Windows Vista x64 Edition Service Pack 1, and Windows Vista x64 Edition Service Pack 2
Windows Server 2008 for 32-bit Systems and Windows Server 2008 for 32-bit Systems Service Pack 2*
Windows Server 2008 for x64-based Systems and Windows Server 2008 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 2*
Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-based Systems and Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-based Systems Service Pack 2
Windows 7 for 32-bit Systems
Windows 7 for x64-based Systems
Windows Server 2008 R2 for x64-based Systems*
Windows Server 2008 R2 for Itanium-based Systems

*Server Core installation affected. This update applies, with the same severity rating, to supported editions of Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2, whether or not installed using the Server Core installation option. For more information on this installation option, see the MSDN articles, Server Core and Server Core for Windows Server 2008 R2. Note that the Server Core installation option does not apply to certain editions of Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2; see Compare Server Core Installation Options.

Referenceshttp://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/ms09-056.mspx
http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2009-2510
http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2009-2511
CreditsMicrosoft MAPP program
Ian Wright (CVE-2009-2510)
Jean-Luc Giraud (CVE-2009-2510)
Dan Kaminsky (CVE-2009-2510, CVE-2009-2511)
RevisionsOctober 14th 2009 - 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:
Summary of the cause and potential effect of the vulnerability provided by the vendor.

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.

 

 

If you need more information or guidance, then please contact technical support.

  • Protect sensitive data from unauthorized use
  • Encrypt data, hard drives and removable media
  • Work uninterrupted with encryption on demand