In January 2010, Google security researcher Tavis Ormandy had discovered an ancient bug in Microsoft Windows Operating System, which involves a utility that allows newer versions of Windows to run very old programs. The researcher has found a way to exploit this utility in Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and 2008 as well as Windows Vista and Windows 7.
This bug dates from the time of the DOS operating system – that is 17 years! The bug was first appeared in Windows NT 3.1 and carried over into almost every version of Windows that has appeared since. This bug will be patched by Microsoft in its February security update for Windows. The update also tackles bugs in Office XP, Office 2003 and Office 2004 for Apple Macintosh machines. [via]
Be the first to comment