Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for April 2008

Published: Tuesday, April 08, 2008 | Updated: Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Version: 1.3

This bulletin summary lists security bulletins released for April 2008.

With the release of the bulletins for April 2008, this bulletin summary replaces the bulletin advance notification originally issued April 3, 2008. For more information about the bulletin advance notification service, see Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification.

For information about how to receive automatic notifications whenever Microsoft security bulletins are issued, visit Microsoft Technical Security Notifications.

Microsoft is hosting a webcast to address customer questions on these bulletins on April 9, 2008, at 11:00 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada). Register now for the April Security Bulletin Webcast. After this date, this webcast is available on-demand. For more information, see Microsoft Security Bulletin Summaries and Webcasts.

Microsoft also provides information to help customers prioritize monthly security updates with any non-security, high-priority updates that are being released on the same day as the monthly security updates. Please see the section, Other Information.

Bulletin Information

Executive Summaries

The security bulletins for this month are as follows, in order of severity:

Critical (5)

Bulletin Identifier	Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-018
Bulletin Title	Vulnerability in Microsoft Project Could Allow Remote Code Execution (950183)
Executive Summary	This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft Project that could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted Project file. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of an affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.
Maximum Severity Rating	Critical
Impact of Vulnerability	Remote Code Execution
Detection	Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer can detect whether your computer system requires this update. The update does not require a restart.
Affected Software	Microsoft Office. For more information, see the Affected Software and Download Locations section.

Bulletin Identifier	Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-021
Bulletin Title	Vulnerabilities in GDI Could Allow Remote Code Execution (948590)
Executive Summary	This security update resolves two privately reported vulnerabilities in GDI. Exploitation of either of these vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted EMF or WMF image file. An attacker who successfully exploited these vulnerabilities could take complete control of an affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights.
Maximum Severity Rating	Critical
Impact of Vulnerability	Remote Code Execution
Detection	Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer can detect whether your computer system requires this update. The update requires a restart.
Affected Software	Microsoft Windows. For more information, see the Affected Software and Download Locations section.

Bulletin Identifier	Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-022
Bulletin Title	Vulnerability in VBScript and JScript Scripting Engines Could Allow Remote Code Execution (944338)
Executive Summary	This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in the VBScript and JScript scripting engines in Windows. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of an affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights.
Maximum Severity Rating	Critical
Impact of Vulnerability	Remote Code Execution
Detection	Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer can detect whether your computer system requires this update. The update requires a restart.
Affected Software	Microsoft Windows. For more information, see the Affected Software and Download Locations section.

Bulletin Identifier	Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-023
Bulletin Title	Security Update of ActiveX Kill Bits (948881)
Executive Summary	This security update resolves one privately reported vulnerability for a Microsoft product. This update also includes a kill bit for the Yahoo! Music Jukebox product. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a user viewed a specially crafted Web page using Internet Explorer. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.
Maximum Severity Rating	Critical
Impact of Vulnerability	Remote Code Execution
Detection	Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer can detect whether your computer system requires this update. The update may require a restart.
Affected Software	Microsoft Windows, Internet Explorer. For more information, see the Affected Software and Download Locations section.

Bulletin Identifier	Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-024
Bulletin Title	Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer (947864)
Executive Summary	This security update resolves one privately reported vulnerability. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a user viewed a specially crafted Web page using Internet Explorer. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.
Maximum Severity Rating	Critical
Impact of Vulnerability	Remote Code Execution
Detection	Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer can detect whether your computer system requires this update. The update requires a restart.
Affected Software	Microsoft Windows, Internet Explorer. For more information, see the Affected Software and Download Locations section.

Important (3)

Bulletin Identifier	Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-020
Bulletin Title	Vulnerability in DNS Client Could Allow Spoofing (945553)
Executive Summary	This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability. This spoofing vulnerability exists in Windows DNS clients and could allow an attacker to send specially crafted responses to DNS requests, thereby spoofing or redirecting Internet traffic from legitimate locations.
Maximum Severity Rating	Important
Impact of Vulnerability	Spoofing
Detection	Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer can detect whether your computer system requires this update. The update requires a restart.
Affected Software	Microsoft Windows. For more information, see the Affected Software and Download Locations section.

Bulletin Identifier	Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-025
Bulletin Title	Vulnerability in Windows Kernel Could Allow Elevation of Privilege (941693)
Executive Summary	This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in the Windows kernel. A local attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of an affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts.
Maximum Severity Rating	Important
Impact of Vulnerability	Elevation of Privilege
Detection	Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer can detect whether your computer system requires this update. The update requires a restart.
Affected Software	Microsoft Windows. For more information, see the Affected Software and Download Locations section.

Bulletin Identifier	Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-019
Bulletin Title	Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Visio Could Allow Remote Code Execution (949032)
Executive Summary	This security update resolves privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office Visio that could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted Visio file. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of an affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.
Maximum Severity Rating	Important
Impact of Vulnerability	Remote Code Execution
Detection	Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer can detect whether your computer system requires this update. The update does not require a restart.
Affected Software	Microsoft Office. For more information, see the Affected Software and Download Locations section.

Affected Software and Download Locations

Microsoft Windows 2000

Bulletin Identifier	MS08-021	MS08-022	MS08-023	MS08-024	MS08-020	MS08-025
Maximum Severity Rating	Critical	Critical	Critical	Critical	Important	Important
Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4	Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 (Critical)	VBScript 5.1 and JScript 5.1 (Critical) VBScript 5.6 and JScript 5.6 (Critical)	Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 Service Pack 4 (Critical) Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1 (Critical)	Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 Service Pack 4 (Critical) Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1 (Critical)	Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 (Important)	Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 (Important)

Windows XP

Bulletin Identifier	MS08-021	MS08-022	MS08-023	MS08-024	MS08-020	MS08-025
Maximum Severity Rating	Critical	Critical	Critical	Critical	Important	Important
Windows XP Service Pack 2	Windows XP Service Pack 2 (Critical)	VBScript 5.6 and JScript 5.6 (Critical)	Windows XP Service Pack 2 (Critical)	Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 (Critical) Windows Internet Explorer 7 (Critical)	Windows XP Service Pack 2 (Important)	Windows XP Service Pack 2 (Important)
Windows XP Professional x64 Edition and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition Service Pack 2	Windows XP Professional x64 Edition and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition Service Pack 2 (Critical)	VBScript 5.6 and JScript 5.6 (Critical)	Windows XP Professional x64 Edition and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition Service Pack 2 (Critical)	Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 (Critical) Windows Internet Explorer 7 (Critical)	Windows XP Professional x64 Edition and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition Service Pack 2 (Important)	Windows XP Professional x64 Edition and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition Service Pack 2 (Important)

Windows Server 2003

Bulletin Identifier	MS08-021	MS08-022	MS08-023	MS08-024	MS08-020	MS08-025
Maximum Severity Rating	Critical	Critical	Critical	Critical	Important	Important
Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 and Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2	Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 and Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (Critical)	VBScript 5.6 and JScript 5.6 (Critical)	Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 and Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (Moderate)	Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 (Critical) Windows Internet Explorer 7 (Critical)	Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 and Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (Important)	Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 and Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (Important)
Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition and Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition Service Pack 2	Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition and Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition Service Pack 2 (Critical)	VBScript 5.6 and JScript 5.6 (Critical)	Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition and Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition Service Pack 2 (Moderate)	Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 (Critical) Windows Internet Explorer 7 (Critical)	Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition and Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition Service Pack 2 (Important)	Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition and Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition Service Pack 2 (Important)
Windows Server 2003 with SP1 for Itanium-based Systems and Windows Server 2003 with SP2 for Itanium-based Systems	Windows Server 2003 with SP1 for Itanium-based Systems and Windows Server 2003 with SP2 for Itanium-based Systems (Critical)	VBScript 5.6 and JScript 5.6 (Critical)	Windows Server 2003 with SP1 for Itanium-based Systems and Windows Server 2003 with SP2 for Itanium-based Systems (Moderate)	Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 (Critical) Windows Internet Explorer 7 (Critical)	Windows Server 2003 with SP1 for Itanium-based Systems and Windows Server 2003 with SP2 for Itanium-based Systems (Important)	Windows Server 2003 with SP1 for Itanium-based Systems and Windows Server 2003 with SP2 for Itanium-based Systems (Important)

Windows Vista

Bulletin Identifier	MS08-021	MS08-022	MS08-023	MS08-024	MS08-020	MS08-025
Maximum Severity Rating	Critical	Critical	Critical	Critical	Important	Important
Windows Vista and Windows Vista Service Pack 1	Windows Vista and Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (Critical)	None	Windows Vista and Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (Important)	Windows Internet Explorer 7 (Critical)	Windows Vista (Important)	Windows Vista and Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (Important)
Windows Vista x64 Edition and Windows Vista x64 Edition Service Pack 1	Windows Vista x64 Edition and Windows Vista x64 Edition Service Pack 1 (Critical)	None	Windows Vista x64 Edition and Windows Vista x64 Edition Service Pack 1 (Important)	Windows Internet Explorer 7 (Critical)	Windows Vista x64 Edition (Important)	Windows Vista x64 Edition and Windows Vista x64 Edition Service Pack 1 (Important)

Windows Server 2008

Bulletin Identifier	MS08-021	MS08-022	MS08-023	MS08-024	MS08-020	MS08-025
Maximum Severity Rating	Critical	Critical	Critical	Critical	Important	Important
Windows Server 2008 for 32-bit Systems	Windows Server 2008 for 32-bit Systems (Critical)	None	Windows Server 2008 for 32-bit Systems (Low)	Windows Internet Explorer 7* (Critical)	None	Windows Server 2008 for 32-bit Systems (Important)
Windows Server 2008 for x64-based Systems	Windows Server 2008 for x64-based Systems (Critical)	None	Windows Server 2008 for x64-based Systems (Low)	Windows Internet Explorer 7* (Critical)	None	Windows Server 2008 for x64-based Systems (Important)
Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-based Systems	Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-based Systems (Critical)	None	Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-based Systems (Low)	Windows Internet Explorer 7 (Critical)	None	Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-based Systems (Important)

Microsoft Project

Bulletin Identifier	MS08-018
Maximum Severity Rating	Critical
Microsoft Project 2000 Service Release 1	Project 2000 Service Release 1 (KB949043) (Critical)
Microsoft Project 2002 Service Pack 1	Project 2002 Service Pack 1 (KB949005) (Important)
Microsoft Project 2003 Service Pack 2	Project 2003 Service Pack 2 (KB948962) (Important)

Microsoft Visio

Bulletin Identifier	MS08-019
Maximum Severity Rating	Important
Microsoft Visio 2002 Service Pack 2	Visio 2002 Service Pack 2 (KB947896) (Important)
Microsoft Visio 2003 Service Pack 2	Visio 2003 Service Pack 2 (KB947650) (Important)
Microsoft Visio 2003 Service Pack 3	Visio 2003 Service Pack 3 (KB947650) (Important)
Microsoft Visio 2007	Visio 2007 (KB947590) (Important)
Microsoft Visio 2007 Service Pack 1	Visio 2007 Service Pack 1 (KB947590) (Important)

Detection and Deployment Tools and Guidance

Security Central

Manage the software and security updates you need to deploy to the servers, desktop, and mobile computers in your organization. For more information see the TechNet Update Management Center. The TechNet Security Center provides additional information about security in Microsoft products. Consumers can visit Security At Home, where this information is also available by clicking “Latest Security Updates”.

Security updates are available from Microsoft Update, Windows Update, and Office Update. Security updates are also available at 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 (ESUIT). For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 910723.

Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer

The 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.

Windows Server Update Services

By using Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), administrators can quickly and reliably 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 to Windows 2000 and later operating systems.

For more information about how to deploy this security update using Windows Server Update Services, visit Windows Server Update Services.

Systems Management Server

Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) delivers a highly-configurable enterprise solution for managing updates. By using SMS, administrators can identify Windows-based systems that require security updates and to perform controlled deployment of these updates throughout the enterprise with minimal disruption to end users. The next release of SMS, System Center Configuration Manager 2007, is now available; see also System Center Configuration Manager 2007. For more information about how administrators can use SMS 2003 to deploy security updates, see SMS 2003 Security Patch Management. SMS 2.0 users can also use the Software Updates Services Feature Pack to help deploy security updates. For information about SMS, visit Microsoft Systems Management Server.

Note SMS uses the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer and the Microsoft Office Detection Tool to provide broad support for security bulletin update detection and deployment. Some software updates may not be detected by these tools. Administrators can use the inventory capabilities of the SMS in these cases to target updates to specific systems. For more information about this procedure, see Deploying Software Updates Using the SMS Software Distribution Feature. Some security updates require administrative rights following a restart of the system. Administrators can use the Elevated Rights Deployment Tool (available in the SMS 2003 Administration Feature Pack and in the SMS 2.0 Administration Feature Pack) to install these updates.

Other Information

Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool

Microsoft has released an updated version of the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool on Windows Update, Microsoft Update, Windows Server Update Services, and the Download Center.

Non-Security, High-Priority Updates on MU, WU, and WSUS

For information about non-security releases on Windows Update and Microsoft update, please see:

Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 894199: Description of Software Update Services and Windows Server Update Services changes in content for 2008. Includes all Windows content.
New, Revised, and Released Updates for Microsoft Products Other Than Microsoft Windows.

Security Strategies and Community

Update Management Strategies

Security Guidance for Update Management provides additional information about Microsoft’s best-practice recommendations for applying security updates.

Obtaining Other Security Updates

Updates for other security issues are available from the following locations:

Security updates are available from Microsoft Download Center. You can find them most easily by doing a keyword search for "security update".
Updates for consumer platforms are available from Microsoft Update.
You can obtain the security updates offered this month on Windows Update, from Download Center on Security and Critical Releases ISO CD Image files. For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 913086.

IT Pro Security Community

Learn to improve security and optimize your IT infrastructure, and participate with other IT Pros on security topics in IT Pro Security Community.

Acknowledgments

Microsoft thanks the following for working with us to help protect customers:

National Cyber Security Center, The Republic of Korea for reporting an issue described in MS08-018
An anonymous finder for reporting an issue described in MS08-019
An anonymous finder for reporting another issue described in MS08-019
Amit Klein of Trusteer for reporting an issue described in MS08-020
Alla Berzroutchko of Scanit for reporting an issue described in MS08-020
Roy Arends of Nominet UK for reporting an issue described in MS08-020
Jun Mao of iDefense Labs for reporting an issue described in MS08-021
Sebastian Apelt of Zero Day Initiative for reporting an issue described in MS08-021
Thomas Garnier of SkyRecon for reporting an issue described in MS08-021
Yamata Li of Palo Alto Networks for reporting an issue described in MS08-021
Peter Ferrie of Symantec for reporting an issue described in MS08-022
An anonymous researcher working with the iDefense VCP for reporting an issue described in MS08-023
Carsten Eiram of Secunia for reporting an issue described in MS08-024
Thomas Garnier of SkyRecon for reporting an issue described in MS08-025

Support

The affected software listed have been tested to determine which versions are affected. Other versions are past their support life cycle. To determine the support life cycle for your software version, visit Microsoft Support Lifecycle.
Customers in the U.S. and Canada can receive technical support from Microsoft Product Support Services at 1-866-PCSAFETY. There is no charge for support calls that are associated with security updates.
International customers can receive support from their local Microsoft subsidiaries. There is no charge for support that is associated with security updates. For more information about how to contact Microsoft for support issues, visit International Help and Support.

Disclaimer

The information provided in the Microsoft Knowledge Base is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Microsoft disclaims all warranties, either express or implied, including the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In no event shall Microsoft Corporation or its suppliers be liable for any damages whatsoever including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, loss of business profits or special damages, even if Microsoft Corporation or its suppliers have been advised of the possibility of such damages. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages so the foregoing limitation may not apply.

Revisions

V1.0 (April 8, 2008): Bulletin summary published.
V1.1 (April 9, 2008): Executive Summary for Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-018 updated.
V1.2 (April 16, 2008): Finder information for MS08-021 updated, and Affected Software for Microsoft Office Suites and Software clarified.
V1.3 (February 18, 2009): Added unaffected server core notation for Windows Server 2008 for 32-bit Systems and Windows Server 2008 for x64-based Systems for MS08-024.