Microsoft Security Update Fails to Patch the Vulnerability It Was Meant to Fix, According to PandaLabs

- Update MS09-008, Released Yesterday, Was Meant to Patch Windows DNS and WINS Servers

- The Patch Does Not Effectively Protect Against a Vulnerability in DNS Servers that Could be Exploited by Cyber-crooks to Redirect Users to a Malicious Proxy

- Cyber-crooks Could Monitor Users' Internet Movements, Access their Confidential Data and Even Redirect them to Malicious Web Pages

GLENDALE, Calif., March 11 -- PandaLabs, Panda Security's malware analysis and detection laboratory, today issued a warning to Microsoft users that one of the company's latest security updates does not fix the vulnerability it was meant to patch. Update MS09-008, released yesterday by Microsoft, was designed to fix four vulnerabilities in Windows DNS server and WINS server. However, an unpatched flaw has been detected in the DNS server, more specifically in WPAD (Web Proxy Autodiscovery Protocol) registration. WPAD is a service that allows automatic detection of proxy settings without user intervention.

This vulnerability could be used to launch "man-in-the-middle" attacks on Windows DNS servers. Clients have to download WPAD entries from the DNS server, and those entries are ones that could be affected by the "man-in-the-middle" attack. An attacker that exploited this vulnerability successfully could redirect users' traffic through a malicious proxy. A proxy is a program or device widely used in companies to connect all computers in a network to the Internet through a single computer.

"If an attacker manages to redirect targeted users to a malicious proxy they could obtain private information, redirect them to malicious pages in order to infect them with malware or monitor their Internet movements, etc.," explains Luis Corrons, Technical Director of PandaLabs.

PandaLabs advises users who use these systems to be extra cautious and keep an eye on new Microsoft updates to patch this vulnerability as soon as possible.

About PandaLabs

Since 1990, its mission has been to detect and eliminate new threats as rapidly as possible to offer our clients maximum security. To do so, PandaLabs has an innovative automated system that analyzes and classifies thousands of new samples a day and returns automatic verdicts (malware or goodware). This system is the basis of collective intelligence, Panda Security's new security model which can even detect malware that has evaded other security solutions.

Currently, 94 percent of malware detected by PandaLabs is analyzed through this system of collective intelligence. This is complemented through the work of several teams, each specialized in a specific type of malware (viruses, worms, Trojans, spyware, phishing, spam, etc.,) who work 24/7 to provide global coverage. This translates into more secure, simpler and more resource-friendly solutions for clients.

More information is available in the PandaLabs blog: http://www.pandalabs.com/