Critical Patches Issued for Microsoft Products, December 14, 2021

DESCRIPTION:
Multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in Microsoft products, the
most severe of which could allow for remote code execution in the
context of the logged on user. Depending on the privileges associated
with the user, 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 those who operate with administrative user rights.

IMPACT:
Multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in Microsoft products, the
most severe of which could allow for remote code execution.

A full list of all vulnerabilities can be found at the link below:
https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide

Successful exploitation of the most severe of these vulnerabilities
could result in an attacker gaining the same privileges as the logged-on
user. Depending on the privileges associated with the user, 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 those
who operate with administrative user rights.

SYSTEM AFFECTED:
* Apps
* ASP.NET Core & Visual Studio
* Azure Bot Framework SDK
* BizTalk ESB Toolkit
* Internet Storage Name Service
* Microsoft Defender for IoT
* Microsoft Devices
* Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based)
* Microsoft Local Security Authority Server (lsasrv)
* Microsoft Message Queuing
* Microsoft Office
* Microsoft Office Access
* Microsoft Office Excel
* Microsoft Office SharePoint
* Microsoft PowerShell
* Microsoft Windows Codecs Library
* Office Developer Platform
* Remote Desktop Client
* Role: Windows Fax Service
* Role: Windows Hyper-V
* Visual Studio Code
* Visual Studio Code – WSL Extension
* Windows Common Log File System Driver
* Windows Digital TV Tuner
* Windows DirectX
* Windows Encrypting File System (EFS)
* Windows Event Tracing
* Windows Installer
* Windows Kernel
* Windows Media
* Windows Mobile Device Management
* Windows NTFS
* Windows Print Spooler Components
* Windows Remote Access Connection Manager
* Windows Storage
* Windows Storage Spaces Controller
* Windows SymCrypt
* Windows TCP/IP
* Windows Update Stack

RECOMMENDATIONS:
We recommend the following actions be taken:

* Apply appropriate patches or appropriate mitigations provided by
Microsoft to vulnerable systems immediately after appropriate testing.
* Apply the Principle of Least Privilege to all systems and services,
and run all software as a non-privileged user (one without
administrative rights) to diminish the effects of a successful attack.
* Remind all users not to visit untrusted websites or follow links/open
files provided by unknown or untrusted sources.

REFERENCES:
https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide
https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/releaseNote/2021-Dec
https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-december-2021-patch-tuesday-zero-day-exploited-to-spread-emotet-malware/

Published: 28 December 2021, 11:54:49 BST