Microsoft Warns About Internet Explorer Attack

Yesterday, Microsoft issued a Security Advisory concerning an Internet Explorer attack that could allow an RCE (remote code execution) vulnerability. At this point, Microsoft has not released a security patch, so an update won’t solve the problem. While Microsoft is preparing a security patch, they’ve provided a list of workarounds “would help block known attack vectors before a security update is available.” (See Microsoft Security Advisory 2963983).

According to the security advisory,

“Microsoft is aware of limited, targeted attacks that attempt to exploit a vulnerability in Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 7, Internet Explorer 8, Internet Explorer 9, Internet Explorer 10, and Internet Explorer 11.”

An RCE (remote code execution) attack can be launched against a vulnerability the moment you lode a website, even if you don’t download anything on your computer. There are no obvious signs, so a cybercriminal can attack your computer through malicious software, and you may not even be aware of if. This is particularly serious if you have a Windows XP computer because Microsoft is no longer providing updates for XP.

At this point, MIcrosoft has only detected limited, targeted Internet Explorer attacks.

• Deploy the Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit 4.1
• Set Internet and Local intranet security zone settings to “High” to block ActiveX Controls and Active Scripting in these zones
• Configure Internet Explorer to prompt before running Active Scripting or to disable Active Scripting in the Internet and Local intranet security zone
• Unregister VGX.DLL
• Modify the Access Control List on VGX.DLL to be more restrictive
• Enable Enhanced Protected Mode For Internet Explorer 11 and Enable 64-bit Processes for Enhanced Protected Mode

For specifics on setting the workarounds in place visit the Microsoft Advisory site.

The post Microsoft Warns About Internet Explorer Attack appeared first on Integracon Technologies Blog – Computer Support in Knoxville, TN.