Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-054 - Critical

Why was this bulletin revised on September 15, 2008? 
Microsoft revised this bulletin to communicate the re-release of the Norwegian language update for Windows Media Player 11 on all supported 32-bit editions of Windows XP to fix a quality issue that would cause the installation to fail. Customers who have downloaded and attempted to install the Norwegian language update need to download and install the re-released update to be protected from the vulnerability described in this bulletin. No other updates or locales are affected by this re-release. Also, Microsoft removed an erroneous reference to Windows Media Player 10 as a component of Windows Vista x64 Edition and Windows Vista x64 Edition Service Pack 1 from the Non-Affected software table, because this is not a supported configuration.

Where are the file information details? 
The file information details can be found in Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 954154.

I am using an older release of the software discussed in this security bulletin. What should I do? 
The affected software listed in this bulletin have been tested to determine which releases are affected. Other releases are past their support life cycle. To determine the support life cycle for your software release, visit Microsoft Support Lifecycle.

It should be a priority for customers who have older releases of the software to migrate to supported releases to prevent potential exposure to vulnerabilities. For more information about the Windows Product Lifecycle, visit Microsoft Support Lifecycle. For more information about the extended security update support period for these software versions or editions, visit Microsoft Product Support Services.

Customers who require custom support for older releases must contact their Microsoft account team representative, their Technical Account Manager, or the appropriate Microsoft partner representative for custom support options. Customers without an Alliance, Premier, or Authorized Contract can contact their local Microsoft sales office. For contact information, visit Microsoft Worldwide Information, select the country, and then click Go to see a list of telephone numbers. When you call, ask to speak with the local Premier Support sales manager. For more information, see the Windows Operating System Product Support Lifecycle FAQ.

*Windows Server 2008 server core installation not affected. The vulnerability addressed by this update does not affect supported editions of Windows Server 2008 if Windows Server 2008 was installed using the Server Core installation option, even though the files affected by this vulnerability may be present on the system. However, users with the affected files will still be offered this update because the update files are newer (with higher version numbers) than the files that are currently on your system. For more information on this installation option, see Server Core. Note that the Server Core installation option does not apply to certain editions of Windows Server 2008; see Compare Server Core Installation Options.

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Windows Media Player 11. An attacker could exploit the vulnerability by constructing a specially crafted audio file that could allow remote code execution when streamed from a Windows Media server using Windows Media Player 11. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of an affected system.

To view this vulnerability as a standard entry in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures list, see CVE-2008-2253.

Manage the software and security updates you need to deploy to the servers, desktop, and mobile systems in your organization. For more information see the TechNet Update Management Center. The Microsoft TechNet Security Web site provides additional information about security in Microsoft products.

Security updates are available from Microsoft Update, Windows Update, and Office Update. Security updates are also available from the Microsoft Download Center. You can find them most easily by doing a keyword search for "security update."

Finally, security updates can be downloaded from the Microsoft Update Catalog. The Microsoft Update Catalog provides a searchable catalog of content made available through Windows Update and Microsoft Update, including security updates, drivers and service packs. By searching using the security bulletin number (such as, “MS07-036”), you can add all of the applicable updates to your basket (including different languages for an update), and download to the folder of your choosing. For more information about the Microsoft Update Catalog, see the Microsoft Update Catalog FAQ.

Detection and Deployment Guidance

Microsoft has provided detection and deployment guidance for this month’s security updates. This guidance will also help IT professionals understand how they can use various tools to help deploy the security update, such as Windows Update, Microsoft Update, Office Update, the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA), the Office Detection Tool, Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS), and the Extended Security Update Inventory Tool. For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 910723.

Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer

Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) allows administrators to scan local and remote systems for missing security updates as well as common security misconfigurations. For more information about MBSA, visit Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer.

The following table provides the MBSA detection summary for this security update.

For more information about MBSA 2.1, see MBSA 2.1 Frequently Asked Questions.

Windows Server Update Services

By using Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), administrators can deploy the latest critical updates and security updates for Windows 2000 operating systems and later, Office XP and later, Exchange Server 2003, and SQL Server 2000. For more information about how to deploy this security update using Windows Server Update Services, visit the Windows Server Update Services Web site.

Systems Management Server

The following table provides the SMS detection and deployment summary for this security update.

For SMS 2.0 and SMS 2003, the SMS SUS Feature Pack (SUSFP), which includes the Security Update Inventory Tool (SUIT), can be used by SMS to detect security updates. See also Downloads for Systems Management Server 2.0.

For SMS 2003, the SMS 2003 Inventory Tool for Microsoft Updates (ITMU) can be used by SMS to detect security updates that are offered by Microsoft Update and that are supported by Windows Server Update Services. For more information about the SMS 2003 ITMU, see SMS 2003 Inventory Tool for Microsoft Updates. SMS 2003 can also use the Microsoft Office Inventory Tool to detect required updates for Microsoft Office applications. For more information about the Office Inventory Tool and other scanning tools, see SMS 2003 Software Update Scanning Tools. See also Downloads for Systems Management Server 2003.

System Center Configuration Manager 2007 uses WSUS 3.0 for detection of updates. For more information about Configuration Manager 2007 Software Update Management, visit System Center Configuration Manager 2007.

Note for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 with Service Pack 3 includes support for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 manageability.

For more information about SMS, visit the SMS Web site.

For more detailed information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 910723: Summary list of monthly detection and deployment guidance articles.

Affected Software

For information about the specific security update for your affected software, click the appropriate link: