Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for August 2008

Published: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 | Updated: Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Version: 3.0

This bulletin summary lists security bulletins released for August 2008.

With the release of the bulletins for August 2008, this bulletin summary replaces the bulletin advance notification originally issued August 7, 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 August 13, 2008, at 11:00 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada). Register now for the August 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 (6)

Bulletin Identifier	Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-046
Bulletin Title	Vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Image Color Management System Could Allow Remote Code Execution (952954)
Executive Summary	This update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in the Microsoft Image Color Management (ICM) system that could allow remote code execution in the context of the current user. If a user is logged on with administrative user rights, 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 requires a restart.
Affected Software	Microsoft Windows. For more information, see the Affected Software and Download Locations section.

Bulletin Identifier	Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-045
Bulletin Title	Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer (953838)
Executive Summary	This security update resolves five privately reported vulnerabilities and one publicly disclosed vulnerability. All of the vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user views 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.

Bulletin Identifier	Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-041
Bulletin Title	Vulnerability in the ActiveX Control for the Snapshot Viewer for Microsoft Access Could Allow Remote Code Execution (955617)
Executive Summary	This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in the ActiveX control for the Snapshot Viewer for Microsoft Access. An attacker could exploit the vulnerability by constructing a specially crafted Web page. When a user views the Web page, the vulnerability could allow remote code execution. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the logged-on user.
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 MS08-043
Bulletin Title	Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Excel Could Allow Remote Code Execution (954066)
Executive Summary	This security update resolves four privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office Excel that could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted Excel 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. 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 MS08-051
Bulletin Title	Vulnerabilities in Microsoft PowerPoint Could Allow Remote Code Execution (949785)
Executive Summary	This security update resolves three privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office PowerPoint and Microsoft Office PowerPoint Viewer that could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted PowerPoint file. An attacker who successfully exploited any of 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. 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 MS08-044
Bulletin Title	Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office Filters Could Allow Remote Code Execution (924090)
Executive Summary	This security update resolves five privately reported vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user viewed a specially crafted image file using Microsoft Office. 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.

Important (5)

Bulletin Identifier	Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-047
Bulletin Title	Vulnerability in IPsec Policy Processing Could Allow Information Disclosure (953733)
Executive Summary	This update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in the way certain Windows Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) rules are applied. This vulnerability could cause systems to ignore IPsec policies and transmit network traffic in clear text. This, in turn, would disclose information intended to be encrypted on the network. An attacker viewing the traffic on the network would be able to view and possibly modify the contents of the traffic. Note that this vulnerability would not allow an attacker to execute code or to elevate their user rights directly. It could be used to collect useful information to try to further compromise the affected system or network.
Maximum Severity Rating	Important
Impact of Vulnerability	Information Disclosure
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 MS08-049
Bulletin Title	Vulnerabilities in Event System Could Allow Remote Code Execution (950974)
Executive Summary	This update resolves two privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows Event System that could allow remote code execution. 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 administrative 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 requires a restart.
Affected Software	Microsoft Windows. For more information, see the Affected Software and Download Locations section.

Bulletin Identifier	Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-048
Bulletin Title	Security Update for Outlook Express and Windows Mail (951066)
Executive Summary	This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in Outlook Express and Windows Mail. The vulnerability could allow information disclosure if a user visits 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	Important
Impact of Vulnerability	Information Disclosure
Detection	Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer can detect whether your computer system requires this update. The update may require a restart.
Affected Software	Microsoft Windows, Outlook Express, Windows Mail. For more information, see the Affected Software and Download Locations section.

Bulletin Identifier	Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-050
Bulletin Title	Vulnerability in Windows Messenger Could Allow Information Disclosure (955702)
Executive Summary	This security update resolves a publicly reported vulnerability in supported versions of Windows Messenger. As a result of this vulnerability, scripting of an ActiveX control could allow information disclosure in the context of the logged-on user. An attacker could change state, get contact information, and initiate audio and video chat sessions without the knowledge of the logged-on user. An attacker could also capture the user’s logon ID and remotely log on to the user’s Messenger client impersonating that user.
Maximum Severity Rating	Important
Impact of Vulnerability	Information Disclosure
Detection	Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer can detect whether your computer system requires this update only for Windows Messenger 4.7 on supported editions of Windows XP. The update requires a restart.
Affected Software	Microsoft Windows, Windows Messenger. For more information, see the Affected Software and Download Locations section.

Bulletin Identifier	Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-042
Bulletin Title	Vulnerability in Microsoft Word Could Allow Remote Code Execution (955048)
Executive Summary	This security update resolves a publicly reported vulnerability in Microsoft Word. This vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted Word 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	MS08-046	MS08-045	MS08-047	MS08-049	MS08-048	MS08-050
Bulletin Maximum Severity Rating	Critical	Critical	Important	Important	Important	Important
Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4	Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 (Critical)	Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 Service Pack 4 (Critical) Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1 (Critical)	Not applicable	Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 (Important)	Microsoft Outlook Express 5.5 Service Pack 2 (Important) Microsoft Outlook Express 6 Service Pack 1 (Important)	Windows Messenger 5.1 (KB899283) (Important)
Windows XP
Bulletin Identifier	MS08-046	MS08-045	MS08-047	MS08-049	MS08-048	MS08-050
Bulletin Maximum Severity Rating	Critical	Critical	Important	Important	Important	Important
Windows XP Service Pack 2 and Windows XP Service Pack 3	Windows XP Service Pack 2 and Windows XP Service Pack 3 (Critical)	Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 (Critical) Windows Internet Explorer 7 (Critical)	Not applicable	Windows XP Service Pack 2 and Windows XP Service Pack 3 (Important)	Microsoft Outlook Express 6 (Important)	Windows Messenger 4.7 (KB946648) (Important) Windows Messenger 5.1 (KB899283) (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)	Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 (Critical) Windows Internet Explorer 7 (Critical)	Not applicable	Windows XP Professional x64 Edition and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition Service Pack 2 (Important)	Microsoft Outlook Express 6 (Important)	Windows Messenger 4.7 (KB946648) (Important) Windows Messenger 5.1 (KB899283) (Important)
Windows Server 2003
Bulletin Identifier	MS08-046	MS08-045	MS08-047	MS08-049	MS08-048	MS08-050
Bulletin Maximum Severity Rating	Critical	Critical	Important	Important	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)	Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 (Critical) Windows Internet Explorer 7 (Critical)	Not applicable	Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 and Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (Important)	Microsoft Outlook Express 6 (Low)	Windows Messenger 4.7 (KB954723) (Moderate) Windows Messenger 5.1 (KB899283) (Moderate)
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)	Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 (Critical) Windows Internet Explorer 7 (Critical)	Not applicable	Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition and Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition Service Pack 2 (Important)	Microsoft Outlook Express 6 (Low)	Windows Messenger 4.7 (KB954723) (Moderate) Windows Messenger 5.1 (KB899283) (Moderate)
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)	Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 (Critical) Windows Internet Explorer 7 (Critical)	Not applicable	Windows Server 2003 with SP1 for Itanium-based Systems and Windows Server 2003 with SP2 for Itanium-based Systems (Important)	Microsoft Outlook Express 6 (Low)	Windows Messenger 4.7 (KB954723) (Moderate) Windows Messenger 5.1 (KB899283) (Moderate)
Windows Vista
Bulletin Identifier	MS08-046	MS08-045	MS08-047	MS08-049	MS08-048	MS08-050
Bulletin Maximum Severity Rating	Critical	Critical	Important	Important	Important	Important
Windows Vista and Windows Vista Service Pack 1	Not applicable	Windows Internet Explorer 7 (Critical)	Windows Vista and Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (Important)	Windows Vista and Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (Important)	Windows Mail (Important)	Not applicable
Windows Vista x64 Edition and Windows Vista x64 Edition Service Pack 1	Not applicable	Windows Internet Explorer 7 (Critical)	Windows Vista x64 Edition and Windows Vista x64 Edition Service Pack 1 (Important)	Windows Vista x64 Edition and Windows Vista x64 Edition Service Pack 1 (Important)	Windows Mail (Important)	Not applicable
Windows Server 2008
Bulletin Identifier	MS08-046	MS08-045	MS08-047	MS08-049	MS08-048	MS08-050
Bulletin Maximum Severity Rating	Critical	Critical	Important	Important	Important	Important
Windows Server 2008 for 32-bit Systems	Not applicable	Windows Internet Explorer 7** (Critical)	Windows Server 2008 for 32-bit Systems* (Important)	Windows Server 2008 for 32-bit Systems* (Important)	Windows Mail** (Low)	Not applicable
Windows Server 2008 for x64-based Systems	Not applicable	Windows Internet Explorer 7** (Critical)	Windows Server 2008 for x64-based Systems* (Important)	Windows Server 2008 for x64-based Systems* (Important)	Windows Mail** (Low)	Not applicable
Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-based Systems	Not applicable	Windows Internet Explorer 7 (Critical)	Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-based Systems (Important)	Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-based Systems (Important)	Windows Mail (Low)	Not applicable


Microsoft Office Suites, Systems, and Components
Bulletin Identifier	MS08-041	MS08-043	MS08-051	MS08-044	MS08-042
Bulletin Maximum Severity Rating	Critical	Critical	Critical	Critical	Important
Microsoft Works 8	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	Microsoft Works 8 (KB955428) (Important)	Not applicable
Microsoft Office 2000 Service Pack 3	Microsoft Office Access 2000 Service Pack 3 (KB955441) (Critical)	Excel 2000 Service Pack 3 (KB951582) (Critical)	Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2000 Service Pack 3 (KB949007) (Critical)	Microsoft Office 2000 Service Pack 3 (KB921595) (Critical)	Not applicable
Microsoft Office XP Service Pack 3	Microsoft Office Access 2002 Service Pack 3 (KB955440) (Critical)	Excel 2002 Service Pack 3 (KB951551) (Important)	Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2002 Service Pack 3 (KB948995) (Important)	Microsoft Office XP Service Pack 3 (KB921596) (Important)	Microsoft Word 2002 Service Pack 3 (KB954463) (Important)
Microsoft Office 2003 Service Pack 2 and Microsoft Office 2003 Service Pack 3	Microsoft Office Access 2003 Service Pack 2 and Microsoft Office Access 2003 Service Pack 3 (KB955439) (Critical)	Excel 2003 Service Pack 2 (KB951548) (Important) Excel 2003 Service Pack 3 (KB951548) (Important)	Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 Service Pack 2 (KB948988) (Important) Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 Service Pack 3 (KB948988) (Important)	Microsoft Office 2003 Service Pack 2 (KB921598) (Important)	Microsoft Word 2003 Service Pack 2 (KB954464) (Important) Microsoft Word 2003 Service Pack 3 (KB954464) (Important)
2007 Microsoft Office System and 2007 Microsoft Office System Service Pack 1	Not applicable	Excel 2007 (KB951546) (Important) Excel 2007 Service Pack 1 (KB951546) (Important)	Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 (KB951338) (Important) Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 Service Pack 1 (KB951338) (Important)	Not applicable	Not applicable
Other Office Software
Bulletin Identifier	MS08-041	MS08-043	MS08-051	MS08-044	MS08-042
Bulletin Maximum Severity Rating	Critical	Critical	Critical	Critical	Important
Microsoft Office Project 2002 Service Pack 1	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	Microsoft Office Project 2002 Service Pack 1 (KB921596) (Important)	Not applicable
SnapShot Viewer for Microsoft Access	SnapShot Viewer for Microsoft Access (KB957198) (Critical)	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
Microsoft Office PowerPoint Viewer 2003	Not applicable	Not applicable	Microsoft Office PowerPoint Viewer 2003 (KB949041) (Important)	Not applicable	Not applicable
Microsoft Office Excel Viewer 2003 and Microsoft Office Excel Viewer 2003 Service Pack 3	Not applicable	Microsoft Office Excel Viewer 2003 (KB951589) (Important) Microsoft Office Excel Viewer 2003 Service Pack 3 (KB951589) (Important)	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
Microsoft Office Excel Viewer	Not applicable	Microsoft Office Excel Viewer (KB955472) (Important)	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
Microsoft Office Converter Pack	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	Microsoft Office Converter Pack (KB925256) (Important)	Not applicable
Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats and Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats Service Pack 1	Not applicable	Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats (KB951596) (Important) Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats Service Pack 1 (KB951596) (Important)	Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats (KB954038) (Important) Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats Service Pack 1 (KB954038) (Important)	Not applicable	Not applicable
Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Service Pack 1	Not applicable	Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007* (KB953397) (Important) Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Service Pack 1* (KB953397) (Important)	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 x64 Edition and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 x64 Edition Service Pack 1	Not applicable	Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 x64 Edition* (KB953397) (Important) Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 x64 Edition Service Pack 1* (KB953397) (Important)	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
Microsoft Office for Mac
Bulletin Identifier	MS08-041	MS08-043	MS08-051	MS08-044	MS08-042
Bulletin Maximum Severity Rating	Critical	Critical	Critical	Critical	Critical
Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac	Not applicable	Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac (KB956343) (Important)	Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac (KB956343) (Important)	Not applicable	Not applicable
Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac	Not applicable	Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac (KB956344) (Important)	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable

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.

Update Compatibility Evaluator and Application Compatibility Toolkit

Updates often write to the same files and registry settings required for your applications to run. This can trigger incompatibilities and increase the time it takes to deploy security updates. You can streamline testing and validating Windows updates against installed applications with the Update Compatibility Evaluator components included with Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.0.

The Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) contains the necessary tools and documentation to evaluate and mitigate application compatibility issues before deploying Microsoft Windows Vista, a Windows Update, a Microsoft Security Update, or a new version of Windows Internet Explorer in your environment.

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:

ISC/SANS for reporting an issue described in MS08-042
VeriSign iDefense VCP for reporting an issue described in MS08-043
TippingPoint and the Zero Day Initiative for reporting an issue described in MS08-043
Jeremy Funk for reporting an issue described in MS08-043
Shaun Colley of NGS Software for reporting an issue described in MS08-044
Damian Put, working with the Zero Day Initiative (ZDI), for reporting an issue described in MS08-044
An anonymous researcher working with the iDefense VCP for reporting an issue described in MS08-044
Damian Put, working with the iDefense VCP, for reporting an issue described in MS08-044
Yamata Li of Palo Alto Networks for reporting an issue described in MS08-045
Tavis Ormandy of the Google Security Team for reporting an issue described in MS08-045
Sam Thomas, working with TippingPoint and the Zero Day Initiative, for reporting an issue described in MS08-045
TippingPoint and the Zero Day Initiative for reporting an issue described in MS08-045
Jun Mao of VeriSign iDefense Labs for reporting an issue described in MS08-046
Jorge Luis Alvarez Medina of Core Security Technologies for reporting an issue described in MS08-048
Yamata Li of Palo Alto Networks for reporting an issue described in MS08-049
Haifei Li of Fortinet’s FortiGuard Global Security Research Team for reporting an issue described in MS08-050
Vadim Pogulievsky of Finjan's Malicious Code Research Center for reporting an issue described in MS08-050
Ruben Santamarta of Reversemode.com, working with iDefense Labs, for reporting an issue described in MS08-051
ADLab of Venustech for reporting an issue described in MS08-051

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 (August 12, 2008): Bulletin summary published.
V2.0 (August 20, 2008): Added note to MS08-043 in Affected Software and Download Locations to clarify that this update applies to servers that have Excel Services installed, such as the default configuration of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Enterprise and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 For Internet Sites. Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Standard does not include Excel Services. Also added note to MS08-051 in Affected Software and Download Locations, that Microsoft has posted new update packages, labeled Version 2, for Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 Service Pack 2 and Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 Service Pack 3 to the Microsoft Download Center. Customers who manually installed Version 1 of this update from Microsoft Download Center need to reinstall Version 2 of this update. Customers who have installed this update using Microsoft Update or Office Update do not need to reinstall.
V3.0 (October 15, 2008): Included the update for Snapshot Viewer for Microsoft Access (MS08-041). Users who have successfully installed the update for Microsoft Office 2000 Service Pack 3, Office XP Service Pack 2, or Office 2003 Service Pack 2 or Office 2003 Service Pack 3 do not need to reinstall the update for the standalone Snapshot Viewer for Microsoft Access.