Microsoft has released a software update to fix an extraordinarily serious security vulnerability in a core cryptographic component present in all versions of Windows. Sources say Microsoft has quietly shipped a patch for the bug to branches of the U.S. military and to other high-value customers/targets that manage key Internet infrastructure, and that those organisations have been asked to sign agreements preventing them from disclosing details of the flaw prior to the first Patch Tuesday of 2020, taking place yesterday.
According to sources, the vulnerability in question resides in a Windows component known as crypt32.dll, a Windows module that Microsoft says handles “certificate and cryptographic messaging functions in the CryptoAPI.” The Microsoft CryptoAPI provides services that enable developers to secure Windows-based applications using cryptography, and includes functionality for encrypting and decrypting data using digital certificates.
A critical vulnerability in this Windows component could have wide-ranging security implications for a number of important Windows functions, including authentication on Windows desktops and servers, the protection of sensitive data handled by Microsoft’s Internet Explorer/Edge browsers, as well as a number of third-party applications and tools.
Experts Comments
These vulnerabilities should remind us about the blind trust we have in cryptography and machine identities.
Every Windows device relies on trust established by TLS and code signing certificates, which act as machine identities. If you break these identities, you won’t be able to tell the difference between malware and Microsoft software.
It’s good that Microsoft is treating this with urgency, any vulnerability with the core part of Windows is serious. In addition to your own certificates, there are hundreds of Certificate Authorities installed in Windows. Unfortunately, many organisations are.....Read More
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The seriousness of this vulnerability demonstrates the importance of updating.
Software rots over time. It is not that the software is actually changing and getting worse; instead, vulnerabilities that were already in the software and its component building blocks are discovered over time.
CVE-2020-0601, recently disclosed by Microsoft, is a vulnerability at the heart of the system of trust that underlies software applications for the Windows operating system. Legitimate developers can cryptographically sign their software, which proves its legitimacy to users at.....Read More
Exploitation of this vulnerability will allow an attacker to bypass the trust of all network connections on Windows 10.
There are times when it’s reasonable to defer a patch, but deferring the patch for CVE-2020-0601 isn’t one of them. The underlying component, crypt32.dll is used for all digital signatures on Windows computers – servers and desktops. This is the component which helps verify SSL connections, whether software packages are legitimate, and whether a digital certificate submitted for email authentication is valid, among many other security items. Exploitation of this vulnerability will allow.....Read More
None of these questions change what organisations need to do at this point to protect themselves.
For the U.S. government to share its discovery of a critical vulnerability with a vendor is exceptionally rare if not unprecedented. It underscores the criticality of the vulnerability and we urge all organisations to prioritise patching their systems quickly. The fact that Microsoft provided a fix in advance to US Government and other customers which provide critical infrastructure is also highly unusual. These are clearly noteworthy shifts from regular practices and make this vulnerability.....Read More
Importantly, users are also urged not to trust website or emails with links that offer patches for the crypot32.dll.
This is serious news, as the crypt32.dll is a module needed for securing the Microsoft Operating Systems. We still don’t know precisely what the bug is and how easily it could be exploited, as that hasn’t been fully disclosed yet, but there are some pointers online that can give us an idea. We will be able to say more once the patch will be released.
Users are advised to apply the patch for the crypt23.dll as soon as an update is released. However, an issue remains for all the Windows 7.....Read More
Elliptic curves have had a bad reputation.
Elliptic curves have had a bad reputation. Microsoft's disclosure today that "CryptoAPI fails to properly validate certificates that use Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), which may allow an attacker to spoof the validity of certificate chains" and not providing a root cause leaves many questions unanswered. It'll certainly not help with all the previous history of trustworthiness of ECC.
These sorts of vulnerabilities are also most likely to be exploited by advanced cyber criminals and nation-state attackers.
Unpatched vulnerabilities like this are actually some of the most dangerous types of cyber threats because they’re not known vulnerabilities and cannot be defended using conventional signature-based security tools. These sorts of vulnerabilities are also most likely to be exploited by advanced cyber criminals and nation-state attackers to carry out sophisticated attacks that many organisations are not prepared to stop. This is a case where security analytics could help identify and stop.....Read More
As we have learnt from attacks like WannaCry, the failure to patch known vulnerabilities can be devastating.
The Patch Tuesday update from Microsoft revealed a critical security vulnerability in its cryptographic library used by Windows 10, Server 2016, and Server 2019. An attacker could use this vulnerability to spoof a code-signing certificate, sign a malicious executable, and make it look like it was from a trusted source. An attacker could also conduct man-in-the-middle attacks against affected software and decrypt sensitive information.
As we have learnt from attacks like WannaCry, the.....Read More
Actively ensuring the patch is deployed or monitoring the network more broadly.
The existence of this vulnerability serves as a reminder of just how important it is to have processes and technology in place that can act quickly. Whether it’s checking automatic updates are enabled, actively ensuring the patch is deployed or monitoring the network more broadly, as an operating system that it utilised by a large portion of organisations today, the scale and severity of this incident cannot be overlooked. While security teams can become overwhelmed with security alerts and.....Read More
CVE-2020-0601 hits at the very trust we have in today's digital computing environments.
CVE-2020-0601 hits at the very trust we have in today's digital computing environments -- trust to authenticate binaries and trust that our ciphered communications are properly protected. The flaw would enable an attacker, among other things, to exploit how Windows verifies cryptographic trust, enabling them to deliver executable code and making it look like it came from a trusted source. You can imagine its use in ransomware and phishing attacks on unpatched systems. This is a serious.....Read More
Digital signature is one of the most important mechanisms Microsoft provides.
Digital signature is one of the most important mechanisms Microsoft provides. This process was created to prevent malicious payload distribution campaigns. Any compromise could spell significant trouble because attackers who are successful in spoofing code signing certificates can masquerade a malicious program as a legitimate Windows system binary.
This weakness could be helpful in executing a variety of scenarios. For example, if an attacker is thinking of establishing a Remote Access.....Read More
Human capability in cyber security is such a valuable resource.
While this is clearly a massive vulnerability within Windows systems it is important to place this in the bigger picture. Just because the flaw was discovered by the NSA does not automatically elevate this threat to international levels, or that it presents a bigger risk to business than other threats. It is important to place the vulnerability in context, so that the highest threats are prioritised first.
In the same Microsoft update much more potent vulnerabilities with higher CVS scores.....Read More
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"Microsoft has also released patches in response to two other vulnerabilities regarding the Remote Desktop Gateway. ..."
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@Wicus Ross, Senior Researcher, provides expert commentary for "dot your expert comments" at @Information Security Buzz.
"Microsoft has also released patches in response to two other vulnerabilities regarding the Remote Desktop Gateway. ..."
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