Patch Tuesday vulnerability exploited

Attack developed within two days of disclosure.

The

Workstation Service

flaw announced and patched on Tuesday, one of the most critical vulnerabilities covered by

Microsoft

‘s monthly updates, has been targeted by an exploit within two days.

The security hole, covered by

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS06-070

, particularly affects

Windows 2000

users, who could be at risk of complete system intrusion without user interaction or authentication. XP users are believed to be safer, as administrator privileges are more closely guarded.

The speed with which the exploit has been developed may catch out users who are slow to update, and the hole has been described as an ideal vector for a fast-spreading worm. Anyone still running

Windows 2000

is advised to apply the patch as soon as possible.

Microsoft

‘s bulletin is

here

, and the

Windows 2000

version of the patch is

here

.

Symantec

has released generic detection for such exploits, with some details

here

.

Posted on 17 November 2006 by

Virus Bulletin