Microsoft upgrades threat rating on server flaw

Microsoft has been forced to upgrade its latest security advisory after a problem it originally classified as a Denial of Service (DoS) vulnerability was found to be much more serious by security researchers.

The advisory was originally released last Wednesday, and described the vulnerability that affected the Windows Media Services component of the Microsoft IIS Web-server as moderate.

It was re-released on Friday. It upgraded the threat rating to "Important".

"On May 28th, Microsoft released the initial version of this bulletin, rating the severity of the vulnerability as Moderate. Subsequent to that release we have determined that the actions an attacker could take as a result of exploiting this vulnerability could include the ability to execute arbitrary code," it said. "As a result, Microsoft has reissued this bulletin and changed the severity rating to Important".

Although the security advisory was updated, the original patch for the software remains unchanged.

"The original patch corrects the vulnerability and is not being re-released," the updated advisory says.

This came at a bad time for Microsoft, which was forced to pull a patch offline after it caused serious problems for Windows XP users who installed it.

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Talkback 2 comments

    The only bad time I've ever seen for micro$oft was when they have been forced to admit the truth. Such as on the witness stand when billy gates testified to the fact that the windoze os as published by m$ could never be secure due to the architecture of Anonymous -- 03/06/03

    The only bad time I've ever seen for micro$oft was when they have been forced to admit the truth. Such as on the witness stand when billy gates testified to the fact that the windoze os as published by m$ could never be secure due to the architecture of the underlying kernel messaging system.

    Why is anyone who installs an m$ patch surprised that it breaks other "features" of said operating system? That is a known fact also.

    For those of you who use windoze products, you get what you pay (an outrageous price) for: poorly written software without any guarentee of operating as defined in the eula...

    Pete

    MS issues patches, retracts them, then more patches to cover patches already retracted. No wonder a "patch machine" mediates the hideously complex process of fixing its product. Even that machine breaks down, apparenAnonymous -- 03/06/03

    MS issues patches, retracts them, then
    more patches to cover patches already
    retracted. No wonder a "patch machine"
    mediates the hideously complex process
    of fixing its product. Even that machine
    breaks down, apparently, for one reason--
    it needs patches.

    Not only are MS products not exemplars of
    secure engineering, they rarely are models
    for any kind of engineering, according to
    the criticisms currently posted around the
    web.

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