New vulnerability found in Windows XP

Gadget News - Wednesday December 12, 2007

New vulnerability found in Windows XP

Redmond, Washington - A new vulnerability has been discovered in Windows XP that hackers could potentially exploit.

A mishandling of the http:// or ftp:// header by the Windows system component "System32.DLL" could enable malicious programs to be executed using the registered user's rights. The German Federal Agency for Security in Information Technology (BSI) in Bonn is publicising the hole.

For the attack to function, Internet Explorer 7.0 must be installed and the user must call up a properly manipulated web address, the BSI reports. Experts recommend installing Windows Update "MS07-061" from Microsoft to close the hole. The software can be downloaded from Microsoft (http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com).

Users who have activated the Automatic Updates function in Windows XP should already be covered. Various versions of the Windows 2003 Server are also affected by the vulnerability.

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