Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-069 - Critical
Vulnerabilities in Microsoft XML Core Services Could Allow Remote Code Execution (955218)

URL : http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS08-069.mspx

Published: November 11, 2008

Version: 1.0

Executive Summary

This security update resolves several vulnerabilities in Microsoft XML Core Services. The most severe 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.

This security update is rated Critical for Microsoft XML Core Services 3.0 and Important for Microsoft XML Core Services 4.0, Microsoft XML Core Services 5.0, and Microsoft XML Core Services 6.0. For more information, see the subsection, Affected and Non-Affected Software, in this section.

The security update addresses the vulnerabilities by modifying the way that Microsoft XML Core Services parses XML content, handles external document type definitions (DTD), and sets HTTP request fields. For more information about the vulnerabilities, see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) subsection for the specific vulnerability entry under the next section, Vulnerability Information.

Recommendation. Microsoft recommends that customers apply the update immediately.

Known Issues. Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 955218 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/955218) documents the currently known issues that customers may experience when installing this security update. The article also documents recommended solutions for these issues.

Affected and Non-Affected Software

The following software have been tested to determine which versions or editions are affected. Other versions or editions are either past their support life cycle or are not affected. To determine the support life cycle for your software version or edition, visit Microsoft Support Lifecycle.