A massive attack is spreading globally by way of a vulnerability in Microsoft 's Server Message Block that was patched Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability in March . Ransomware is no longer just a nuisance . Now it 's quite literally a matter of life and death . A massive ransomware attack Attack.Ransom being labeled as `` WannaCry Attack.Ransom `` has been reported around the world and is responsible for shutting down hospitals in the United Kingdom and encrypting files at Spanish telecom firm Telefonica . The WannaCry attack Attack.Ransom is not a zero-day flaw , but rather is based on an exploit that Microsoft patched Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability with its MS17-010 advisory on March 14 in the SMB Server . However , Microsoft did not highlight Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability the SMB flaw until April 14 , when a hacker group known as the Shadow Brokers released Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability a set of exploits , allegedly stolen Attack.Databreach from the U.S.National Security Agency . SMB , or Server Message Block , is a critical protocol used by Windows to enable file and folder sharing . It 's also the protocol that today 's WannaCry attack Attack.Ransom is exploiting to rapidly spread from one host to the next around the world , literally at the speed of light . The attack is what is known as a worm , `` slithering '' from one host to the next on connected networks . Among the first large organizations to be impacted by WannaCry is The National Health Service in the UK , which has publicly confirmed that it was attacked Attack.Ransom by the Wan na Decryptor. `` This attack Attack.Ransom was not specifically targeted at the NHS and is affecting organisations from across a range of sectors , '' the NHS stated . `` At this stage we do not have any evidence that patient data has been accessed Attack.Databreach . '' Security firm Kaspersky Lab reported that by 2:30 p.m . ET May 12 it had already seen more than 45,000 WannaCry attacks Attack.Ransom in 74 countries . While the ransomware attack Attack.Ransom is making use of the SMB vulnerability to spread , the encryption of files is done by the Wanna Decryptor attack Attack.Ransom that seeks out all files on a victim 's network . Once the ransomware has completed encrypting files , victims are presented with a screen demanding a ransom Attack.Ransom . Initially , the ransom requested Attack.Ransom was reported to be $ 300 worth of Bitcoin , according to Kaspersky Lab . `` Many of your documents , photos , videos , databases and other files are no longer accessible because they have been encrypted , '' the ransom note states . `` Maybe you are busy looking for a way to recover your files , but do not waste your time . Nobody can recover your files without our decryption service . '' It 's not clear who the original source of the global WannaCry attacks Attack.Ransom is at this point , or even if it 's a single threat actor or multiple actors . What is clear is that despite the fact that a software patch has been available Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability since March for the SMB flaws , WannaCry is using tens of thousands of organizations that did n't patch Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability .

Technology companies are starting to respond to a new Wi-Fi exploit affecting Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability all modern Wi-Fi networks using WPA or WPA2 encryption . The security vulnerabilities allow attackers to read Wi-Fi traffic between devices and wireless access points , and in some cases even modify it to inject malware into websites . Security researchers claim Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability devices running macOS , Windows , iOS , Android , and Linux will be affected Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability by the vulnerabilities . Microsoft says it has already fixed Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability the problem for customers running supported versions of Windows . “ We have released Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability a security update to address Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability this issue , ” says a Microsoft spokesperson in a statement to The Verge . “ Customers who apply Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability the update , or have automatic updates enabled , will be protected . We continue to encourage customers to turn on automatic updates to help ensure they are protected. ” Microsoft says the Windows updates released Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability on October 10th protect customers , and the company “ withheld disclosure Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability until other vendors could develop and release Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability updates. ” While it looks like Android and Linux devices are affected Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability by the worst part of the vulnerabilities , allowing attackers to manipulate websites , Google has promised Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability a fix for affected devices “ in the coming weeks. ” Google ’ s own Pixel devices will be the first to receive Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability fixes with security patch level of November 6 , 2017 , but most other handsets are still well behind even the latest updates . Security researchers claim Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability 41 percent of Android devices are vulnerable Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability to an “ exceptionally devastating ” variant of the Wi-Fi attack that involves manipulating traffic , and it will take time to patch Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability older devices . The Verge has reached out to a variety of Android phone makers to clarify when security patches will reach Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability handsets , and we ’ ll update you accordingly . At the time of writing , Apple has not yet clarified Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability whether the latest versions of macOS and iOS are vulnerable Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability . The Wi-Fi Alliance , a network of companies responsible for Wi-Fi , has responded to the disclosure Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability of the vulnerabilities . “ This issue can be resolved Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability through straightforward software updates , and the Wi-Fi industry , including major platform providers , has already started deploying Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability patches to Wi-Fi users , ” says a Wi-Fi Alliance spokesperson . “ Users can expect all their Wi-Fi devices , whether patched or unpatched Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability , to continue working well together. ” Apple also confirmed to both The Verge and AppleInsider that the vulnerability is patched Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability in a beta version of the current operating systems . The fix should go public Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability in a few weeks , so iOS and macOS devices are n't in the clear just yet . AppleInsider also reports that AirPort hardware , including the Time Machine , AirPort Extreme base station , and AirPort Express do not have a patch . The publication 's source also was n't sure if one was in the works .

The bugs let hackers crash IoT devices , leak Attack.Databreach their information , and completely take them over . Researchers have found Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability that a popular Internet of Things real-time operating system – FreeRTOS – is riddled with serious vulnerabilities . The bugs could allow hackers to crash connected devices in smart homes or critical infrastructure systems , leak Attack.Databreach information from the devices ’ memory , and take them over . And while patches have been issued Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability , researchers warn that it still may take time for smaller vendors to update Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability . Researcher Ori Karliner , with Zimperium ’ s zLabs team , recently analyzed some of the leading operating systems in the IoT market – including FreeRTOS , an open-source OS specifically designed for the microcontrollers that are within IoT devices . Within several versions of FreeRTOS , Karliner found Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability 13 vulnerabilities enabling an array of attacks , including remote code execution , information leak and denial-of-service bugs . “ During our research , we discovered Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability multiple vulnerabilities within FreeRTOS ’ s TCP/IP stack and in the AWS secure connectivity modules . The same vulnerabilities are present in Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability WHIS Connect TCP/IP component for OpenRTOS\SafeRTOS , ” according to a Thursday post by zLabs . The vulnerabilities specifically exist in Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability FreeRTOS ’ s TCP/IP stack and in the AWS secure connectivity modules ( in as well as in the WHIS Connect TCP/IP component for OpenRTOS\SafeRTOS ) . These vulnerabilities include four remote code execution bugs ( CVE-2018-16522 , CVE-2018-16525 , CVE-2018-16526 , and CVE-2018-16528 ) ; seven information leak vulnerabilities ( CVE-2018-16524 , CVE-2018-16527 , CVE-2018-16599 , CVE-2018-16600 , CVE-2018-16601 , CVE-2018-16602 , CVE-2018-16603 ) one denial of service flaw ( CVE-2018-16523 ) and a final ( CVE-2018-16598 ) that was unspecified . zLabs said Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability it has disclosed Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability the security issues to Amazon and collaborated with them to patch Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability the vulnerabilities . Those fixes were deployed Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability for AWS FreeRTOS versions 1.3.2 and onwards . The vulnerabilities in RTOS WHIS were also patched Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability . Amazon did not respond to a request for comment from Threatpost . Due to the amount of vendors impacted Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability by the bugs , the researchers said Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability that they would hold off on publishing Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability further details until all holes have been sealed Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability .

Intel revealed Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability that it will not be issuing Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability Spectre patches to a number of older Intel processor families , potentially leaving many customers vulnerable to the security exploit . Intel claims the processors affected are mostly implemented as closed systems , so they aren ’ t at risk from the Spectre exploit , and that the age of these processors means they have limited commercial availability . The processors which Intel won ’ t be patching Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability include four lines from 2007 , Penryn , Yorkfield , and Wolfdale , along with Bloomfield ( 2009 ) , Clarksfield ( 2009 ) , Jasper Forest ( 2010 ) and the Intel Atom SoFIA processors from 2015 . According to Tom ’ s Hardware , Intel ’ s decision not to patch Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability these products could stem from the relative difficulty of patching Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability the Spectre exploit on older systems . “ After a comprehensive investigation of the microarchitectures and microcode capabilities for these products , Intel has determined to not release Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability microcode updates for these products , ” Intel said . Because of the nature of the Spectre exploit , patches for it need to be delivered Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability as an operating system or BIOS update , and if Microsoft and motherboard OEMs aren ’ t going to distribute Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability the patches , developing Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability them isn ’ t much of a priority . “ However , the real reason Intel gave up on patching Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability these systems seems to be that neither motherboard makers nor Microsoft may be willing to update Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability systems sold a decade ago , ” Tom ’ s Hardware reports . It sounds bad , but as Intel pointed out , these are all relatively old processors — with the exception of the Intel Atom SoFIA processor , which came out in 2015 — and it ’ s unlikely they ’ re used in any high-security environments . The Spectre exploit is a serious security vulnerability to be sure , but as some commentators have pointed out in recent months , it ’ s not the kind of exploit the average user needs to worry about . “ We ’ ve now completed release Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability of microcode updates for Intel microprocessor products launched in the last 9+ years that required protection against the side-channel vulnerabilities discovered Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability by Google Project Zero , ” said an Intel spokseperson . “ However , as indicated in our latest microcode revision guidance , we will not be providing Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability updated microcode for a select number of older platforms for several reasons , including limited ecosystem support and customer feedback. ” If you have an old Penryn processor toiling away in an office PC somewhere , you ’ re probably more at risk for a malware infection arising from a bad download than you are susceptible to something as technically sophisticated as the Spectre or Meltdown vulnerabilities .

Due to the far reaching implications , Security Researchers will typically submit Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability serious 0-day Windows exploits to Microsoft and give the company ample time to patch Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability the vulnerabilities before they can be used to create malware and do harm . A security researcher that goes by the Twitter handle SandboxEscaper , however , decided it would be a good idea to expose Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability a 0-day threat to the world on Twitter , without forewarning Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability Microsoft , and even linked to proof on concept code on GitHub that has since been verified as functional . The language in the original Tweet prevents me from directly embedding it here . SandboxEscaper essentially said Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability , “ Here is the alpc bug as 0day ... I do n't * * * * ing care about life anymore . Neither do I ever again want to submit to MSFT anyway ... ” The official post on the CERT/CC website explains Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability , “ The Microsoft Windows task scheduler SchRpcSetSecurity API contains Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability a vulnerability in the handling of ALPC , which can allow a local user to gain SYSTEM privileges . We have confirmed Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability that the public exploit code works on 64-bit Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016 systems . We have also confirmed Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability compatibility with 32-bit Windows 10 with minor modifications to the public exploit code . Compatibility with other Windows versions is possible with further modifications. ” At this point , Microsoft does not have a patch at the ready , but according to reports a fix will be coming Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability in the next batch of patch Tuesday updates . Because the exploit requires the local execution of code , it doesn ’ t necessarily warrant an out-of-band update . However , with proof of concept code readily available , it ’ s possible nefarious individuals could trick less savvy users into running the code and gain full access to their systems . As always , never execute any files from unknown or untrusted sources.The bug lies in the Windows Task Scheduler ’ s Advanced Local Procedure Call , or ALPC , interface . It allows a local user to gain system level privileges and have free reign over the system to do whatever they want , including overwriting / modifying system files . Will Dormann of CERT/CC verified Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability the original exploit code works on a fully patched Windows 10 x64 installation and later modified the code to work on 32-bit systems as well .

Airmail has issued Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability an update today to patch Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability a vulnerability that security researchers said Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability could let malicious third parties access email databases and read a user ’ s messages . Security consulting firm Versprite outlined Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability the issue in a blog post this morning , noting how Airmail 3 uses both a custom URL scheme and a so-called “ deterministic ” file system location for email messages for any given account . Using those two pieces of information , a hacker could theoretically retrieve Attack.Databreach every one of a user ’ s messages through a phishing scheme Attack.Phishing that relies on that custom URL scheme . Airmail told The Verge that it ’ s already updated Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability the app in the Mac App store and through its direct download beta program to address Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability the issue , calling it a “ very hypothetical ” one . The version number is Airmail 3.6 , and it should be rolling out Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability over the course of the day if you don ’ t already have it now . The update is also listed on Airmail ’ s website , with the update note , “ Potential URL Scheme Vulnerability Fix . ”

LONDON — The U.K. agency tasked with fighting cyberthreats on Thursday announced a new process for the public disclosure Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability of potentially sensitive software flaws , introducing a new level of transparency to its work . The National Cyber Security Centre laid out its new procedure , called the `` Equities Process '' in a blog post that details how it makes decisions on whether to make public Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability the discovery of new flaws . National security operations sometimes hold back from announcing Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability the discovery of security flaws in part because the bugs can be used to gather intelligence . “ There ’ s got to be a good reason not to disclose , ” said Ian Levy , technical director at the NCSC . The default position , the NCSC said , is to disclose Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability those vulnerabilities to the public after fixes have been made Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability . The government will only keep them confidential in rare instances , such as if there ’ s an overriding intelligence reason . Levy said withholding release of a bug will require high-level government sign-off . The goal is to prevent cyberattacks Attack.Ransom like “ WannaCry , ” which paralyzed computer systems around the world in May 2017 . The attack , which the U.S. has blamed on North Korea , wrought havoc within the U.K. ’ s National Health Service ( NHS ) by exploiting vulnerabilities in an outdated version of Microsoft Windows . WannaCry underscored the dangers of not patching Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability or updating Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability software . The NCSC ’ s disclosure policy follows one implemented by the White House in 2017 . The National Security Agency ( NSA ) had come under intense pressure from transparency advocates to disclose more about its work in the wake of WannaCry . “ The best defense against a cyberattack , whether it ’ s by criminals or nation states , is to keep your box up to date , ” said Levy . “ If you patch Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability your software , a lot of the stuff that we ’ ve found goes away. ” The vast majority of attacks are carried out by exploiting vulnerabilities already known to the vendors of the technology in question , Levy said . Such was the case when Russian cyberoperatives hacked into British telecoms companies in 2017 . Levy said the primary goal of more transparency is to “ bang the drum ” about basic cybersecurity , like patching Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability and secure network setups .

Google disclosed Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability a flaw in Microsoft Edge earlier this week , after Microsoft failed to patch Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability the bug in time . Now Google ’ s Project Zero team of security researchers are disclosing Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability yet another Windows 10 security flaw that Microsoft has again failed to patch Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability before Google ’ s imposed 90-day period . Neowin spotted that Google reported Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability two bugs to Microsoft in November , but the company only addressed Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability one of them with its recent Patch Tuesday fixes . The latest unpatched issue is an Elevation of Privilege which allows a normal user to gain administrator privileges on a system . Microsoft has rated Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability the flaw as “ important , ” but not “ critical ” as it can ’ t be exploited Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability remotely . It ’ s still an important issue to fix Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability , as an attacker could potentially combine this with a separate unknown remote code execution to gain administrator access , although that ’ s an unlikely scenario unless Microsoft doesn ’ t address Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability it promptly . It ’ s not clear when Microsoft intends to address Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability the latest security flaw in Windows 10 , and the company still needs to solve Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability the Edge vulnerability that was disclosed Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability by Google earlier this week . Microsoft hit back at Google ’ s approach to security patches last year , after discovering Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability a Chrome flaw and “responsibly” disclosed Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability it to Google so the company had enough time to patch Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability . Google ’ s policy to disclose after 90 days without a patch is often criticized and applauded in equal measure . There ’ s plenty of evidence to suggest security vulnerabilities are increasing in Windows and across the industry , and Microsoft has clearly struggled to fix Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability these two issues with plenty of notice . It can also be argued that Google is making rival software more secure with its efforts , making everyone ’ s software secure . However , Google also has competitive commercial interests , and Project Zero has been unusually aggressive in finding and publishing new vulnerabilities . Reports suggest Google ’ s Project Zero security team originated from the fallout around the 2009 Google hack , an intrusion blamed on an unpatched flaw in Microsoft ’ s Internet Explorer 6 browser . Google makes exceptions to its strict rules , with grace periods , and can even disclose Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability much sooner if the vulnerability is being actively exploited Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability . Google disclosed Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability a major Windows bug back in 2016 just 10 days after reporting Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability it to Microsoft , and the company has revealed Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability zero-day bugs in Windows in the past before patches are available Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability .

AMD has acknowledged Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability the Ryzenfall vulnerabilities discovered Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability by CTS-Labs , though the chip company believes the flaws can be patched Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability via BIOS updates issued Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability over the next few weeks . In a blog post authored by AMD ’ s chief technical officer , Mark Papermaster , AMD confirmed that the four broad classifications of attacks—Masterkey , Ryzenfall , Fallout , and Chimera—are viable , though they require administrative access to the PC or server in question . Third-party protection , such as Microsoft Windows Credential Guard , also serve to block unauthorized administrative access , Papermaster wrote . In any event , “ any attacker gaining unauthorized administrative access would have a wide range of attacks at their disposal well beyond the exploits identified in this research , ” AMD ’ s Papermaster added . But AMD also provided the answer to consumers ’ most pressing question : What , if anything , needs to be done ? For each of the first three classifications of vulnerabilities , AMD said it is working on firmware updates that the company plans to release Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability during the coming weeks . The fourth category of vulnerability , known as Chimera , affected Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability the Promontory chipset , which CTS-Labs said was designed with logic supplied by ASMedia , a third-party vendor . While AMD said patches for that will also be released Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability via a BIOS update , the company said it is working with the Promontory chipset maker on developing Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability the mitigations , rather than supplying its own . AMD has neither confirmed nor denied whether the attacks can be executed remotely , or require local access . AMD did deny , however , that the attacks have anything to do with Meltdown or Spectre , the two side-channel attacks that rival Intel has worked to patch Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability . About a week ago , CTS-Labs issued a press release as well as a website outlining the vulnerabilities , which the company provided to AMD less than 24 hours before CTS-Labs went public , AMD said . But CTS-Labs also drew fire over boilerplate copy on its website that implied a potential financial interest in the subjects of its reports . PCWorld attempted to interview CTS executives , but later rescinded that request after CTS-Labs representatives demanded a list of questions in advance , and also forbade us from asking about the timing and the company ’ s financial motivations . In the meantime , however , the vulnerabilities were confirmed Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability by two independent researchers , Trail of Bits and Check Point . Both expressed doubts that attackers would be able to exploit the vulnerabilities that CTS-Labs had originally discovered Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability .

The device manufacturer acquired St Jude Medical last year and has since been working to fix Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability severe vulnerabilities found in Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability its pacemakers . Abbott released Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability its second and final round of planned cybersecurity updates to its pacemakers , programmers and remote monitoring systems to fix Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability severe cybersecurity flaws in the devices . The patch will update Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability the battery performance alert , allowing the device to monitor for abnormal battery behavior and automatically vibrate to tell the patient when something is wrong . The planned updates began last year , and the latest firmware update was approved Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability by the Food and Drug Administration last week . The update applies to Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability about 350,000 of Abbott ’ s implantable cardioverter defibrillators and implantable cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators . The devices were originally manufactured by St Jude Medical , which Abbott acquired last year . At that time , St Jude was under fire for remaining quiet about defibrillator issues that caused rapid battery depletion . The FDA found St Jude continued to ship these devices despite knowing about the defect . In fact , the agency found those flaws caused patient deaths . The flaws , made public Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability in 2016 by Muddy Waters and security firm MedSec , could allow an unauthorized user to access the defibrillaors and modify the programming controls . Since acquiring St Jude , Abbott has been working to patch Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability those vulnerabilities . The FDA ’ s recall notice said the firmware update will reduce the risk of patient harm due to premature battery depletion and potential exploitation of the flaws in the devices . The update will effectively complete the necessary patches to prevent unauthorized access . The update is not a response to any new flaws , but are merely a continuation of last year ’ s patches , according to officials . `` Technology and its security are always evolving , and this firmware upgrade is part of our commitment to ensuring our products include the latest advancements and protections for patients , '' said Robert Ford , executive vice president of medical devices at Abbott , in a statement .

After scrambling to patch Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability a critical vulnerability late last month , Drupal is at it again . The open source content management project has issued Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability an unscheduled security update to augment its previous patch for Drupalgeddon2 . There was also a cross-site scripting bug advisory in mid-April . The latest Drupal core vulnerability , designated Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability , SA-CORE-2018-004 and assigned Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability CVE-2018-7602 , is related to the March SA-CORE-2018-002 flaw ( CVE-2018-7600 ) , according to the Drupal security team . It can be exploited Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability to take over a website 's server , and allow miscreants to steal information or alter pages . `` It is a remote code execution vulnerability , '' explained a member of the Drupal security team in an email to The Register . `` No more technical details beyond that are available . '' The vulnerability affects Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability at least Drupal 7.x and Drupal 8.x . And a similar issue has been found Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability in the Drupal Media module . In a blog post from earlier this month about the March patch , Dries Buytaert , founder of the Drupal project , observed Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability that all software has security issues and critical security bugs are rare . While the March bug is being actively exploited Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability , the Drupal security team says it 's unaware of any exploitation of the latest vulnerability . But it wo n't be long – those maintaining the project observed automated attacks appearing about two weeks after the SA-CORE-2018-002 notice . The fix is to upgrade Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability to the most recent version of Drupal 7 or 8 core . The latest code can be found at Drupal 's website . For those running 7.x , that means upgrading to Drupal 7.59 . For those running , 8.5.x , the latest version if 8.5.3 . And for those still on 8.4.x , there 's an upgrade to 8.4.8 , despite the fact that as an unsupported minor release , the 8.4.x line would not normally get Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability security updates . And finally , if you 're still on Drupal 6 , which is no longer officially supported , unofficial patches are being developed Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability here . Drupal users appear to be taking the release in stride , though with a bit of grumbling . `` Drupal Wednesday looks like the new Windows patch day , '' quipped designer Tom Binroth via Twitter . `` I would rather spend my time on creating new stuff than patching Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability Drupal core sites . ''

Cisco patches Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability a severe flaw in switch deployment software that can be attacked with crafted messages sent to a port that 's open by default . Cisco has released Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability patches for 34 vulnerabilities mostly affecting Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability its IOS and IOS XE networking software , including three critical remote code execution security bugs . Perhaps the most serious issue Cisco has released Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability a patch for is critical bug CVE-2018-0171 affecting Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability Smart Install , a Cisco client for quickly deploying new switches for Cisco IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software . A remote unauthenticated attacker can exploit a flaw in the client to reload an affected device and cause a denial of service or execute arbitrary code . Embedi , the security firm that found Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability the flaw , initially believed it could only be exploited Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability within an enterprise 's network . However , it found Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability millions of affected devices exposed on the internet . `` Because in a securely configured network , Smart Install technology participants should not be accessible through the internet . But scanning the internet has shown that this is not true , '' wrote Embedi . `` During a short scan of the internet , we detected 250,000 vulnerable devices and 8.5 million devices that have a vulnerable port open . '' Smart Install is supported by a broad range of Cisco routers and switches . The high number of devices with an open port is probably because the Smart Install client 's port TCP 4786 is open by default . This situation is overlooked by network admins , Embedi said . The company has also published Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability proof-of-concept exploit code , so it probably will be urgent for admins to patch Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability . An attacker can exploit the bug by sending Attack.Phishing a crafted Smart Install message to these devices on TCP port 4786 , according to Cisco . Embedi discovered Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability the flaw last year , landing it an award at the GeekPwn conference in Hong Kong last May , and reported Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability it to Cisco in September . Cisco 's internal testing also turned up Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability a critical issue in its IOS XE software , CVE-2018-0150 , due to an undocumented user account that has a default username and password . Cisco warns Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability that an attacker could use this account to remotely connect to a device running the software . Cisco engineers also found Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability CVE-2018-0151 , a remote code execution bug in the QoS subsystem of IOS and IOS XE . `` The vulnerability is due to incorrect bounds checking of certain values in packets that are destined for UDP port 18999 of an affected device . An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending malicious packets to an affected device , '' writes Cisco . All three bugs were given a CVSS score of 9.8 out of 10 .

Google 's Project Zero has again called Apple out for silently patching Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability flaws . Apple has secretly patched Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability a bunch of high-severity bugs reported Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability to it by Google 's Project Zero researchers . The move has resulted in Google 's Project Zero once again calling Apple out for fixing Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability iOS and macOS security flaws without documenting them in public security advisories . While it 's good news that Apple beat Project Zero 's 90-day deadline for patching Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability or disclosing Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability the bugs it finds Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability , the group 's Ivan Fratric recently argued that the practice endangered users by not fully informing them why an update should be installed . This time the criticism comes from Project Zero 's Ian Beer , who 's been credited by Apple with finding Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability dozens of serious security flaws in iOS and macOS over the years . Beer posted Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability a blog about several vulnerabilities in iOS 7 he found Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability in 2014 that share commonalities with several bugs he has found Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability in iOS 11.4.1 , some of which he 's now released exploits for . Beer notes Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability that none of the latest issues is mentioned in the iOS 12 security bulletin even though Apple did fix Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability them . The absence of information about them is a `` disincentive '' for iOS users to patch Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability , Beer argues . `` Apple are still yet to assign CVEs Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability for these issues or publicly acknowledge that they were fixed Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability in iOS 12 , '' wrote Beer . `` In my opinion a security bulletin should mention the security bugs that were fixed Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability . Not doing so provides a disincentive for people to update Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability their devices since it appears that there were fewer security fixes than there really were . '' In other instances , such as one macOS bug Beer reported Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability , Apple did actually assign a CVE Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability , but it still hasn't updated Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability the relevant security bulletin to reflect the fix . Apple similarly allocated Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability CVE-2018-4337 to another high-severity iOS bug , which was fixed Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability in iOS 12 , but is n't currently acknowledged Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability in the iOS 12 security bulletin . In another case , Apple fixed Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability a bug that affected Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability iOS and macOS but didn't assign Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability a CVE or mention it in the security bulletins . Not only may it be a disincentive for end-users to patch Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability iPhones and Macs , but Beer also points out Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability in another bug report that the lack of public acknowledgement Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability by Apple means he has no way of knowing whether the issue is a duplicate that another researcher may have already found Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability . As he notes Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability in the blog , many of the bugs he has found Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability in iOS are very similar or the same as bugs found Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability by noted jailbreaking hackers Pangu Team .

Google 's Project Zero has again called Apple out for silently patching Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability flaws . Apple has secretly patched Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability a bunch of high-severity bugs reported Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability to it by Google 's Project Zero researchers . The move has resulted in Google 's Project Zero once again calling Apple out for fixing Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability iOS and macOS security flaws without documenting them in public security advisories . While it 's good news that Apple beat Project Zero 's 90-day deadline for patching Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability or disclosing Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability the bugs it finds Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability , the group 's Ivan Fratric recently argued that the practice endangered users by not fully informing them why an update should be installed . This time the criticism comes from Project Zero 's Ian Beer , who 's been credited by Apple with finding Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability dozens of serious security flaws in iOS and macOS over the years . Beer posted Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability a blog about several vulnerabilities in iOS 7 he found Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability in 2014 that share commonalities with several bugs he has found Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability in iOS 11.4.1 , some of which he 's now released exploits for . Beer notes Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability that none of the latest issues is mentioned in the iOS 12 security bulletin even though Apple did fix Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability them . The absence of information about them is a `` disincentive '' for iOS users to patch Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability , Beer argues . `` Apple are still yet to assign CVEs Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability for these issues or publicly acknowledge that they were fixed Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability in iOS 12 , '' wrote Beer . `` In my opinion a security bulletin should mention the security bugs that were fixed Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability . Not doing so provides a disincentive for people to update Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability their devices since it appears that there were fewer security fixes than there really were . '' In other instances , such as one macOS bug Beer reported Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability , Apple did actually assign a CVE Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability , but it still hasn't updated Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability the relevant security bulletin to reflect the fix . Apple similarly allocated Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability CVE-2018-4337 to another high-severity iOS bug , which was fixed Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability in iOS 12 , but is n't currently acknowledged Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability in the iOS 12 security bulletin . In another case , Apple fixed Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability a bug that affected Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability iOS and macOS but didn't assign Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability a CVE or mention it in the security bulletins . Not only may it be a disincentive for end-users to patch Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability iPhones and Macs , but Beer also points out Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability in another bug report that the lack of public acknowledgement Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability by Apple means he has no way of knowing whether the issue is a duplicate that another researcher may have already found Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability . As he notes Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability in the blog , many of the bugs he has found Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability in iOS are very similar or the same as bugs found Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability by noted jailbreaking hackers Pangu Team .

Microsoft and Google have been bitter rivals for at least a decade , and the pair have had several disagreements over security vulnerability disclosure Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability in recent years . Google is stoking those disagreements again this week by disclosing Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability a Microsoft Edge security flaw before a patch is available Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability . Neowin spotted that Google disclosed Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability the security flaw to Microsoft back in November , and the company provided 90 days for Microsoft to fix Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability it before going public Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability as it ’ s rated “ medium ” in terms of severity . Google also provided Microsoft with an additional 14-day grace period to have a fix available Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability for its monthly Patch Tuesday release in February , but Microsoft missed Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability this goal because “ the fix is more complex than initially anticipated. ” It ’ s not clear when Microsoft will have a fix available Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability , and the Google engineer responsible for reporting Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability the security flaw says because of the complexity of the fix Microsoft “ do not yet have a fixed date set as of yet. ” The public disclosure will likely anger Microsoft , once again . The software giant hit back at Google ’ s approach Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability to security patches last October , after discovering Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability a Chrome flaw and “responsibly” disclosed Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability it to Google so the company had enough time to patch Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability . At the heart of the issue is whether Google ’ s policy to disclose after 90 days without a patch is reasonable . Google makes exceptions to this hard rule , with grace periods , and can even disclose Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability much sooner if the vulnerability is being actively exploited Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability . Google disclosed Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability a major Windows bug back in 2016 just 10 days after reporting Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability it to Microsoft , and the company has revealed Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability zero-day bugs in Windows in the past before patches are available Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability . Two big and obvious exceptions to Google ’ s security disclosure rules were the recent Meltdown and Spectre bugs . Google engineers discovered Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability the CPU flaws and Intel , AMD , and others had around six months to fix Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability the problems before the flaws were publicly disclosed Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability earlier this year . Chrome OS and Android devices were also affected Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability by the processor flaws , along with Windows , Linux , macOS , and iOS . Google wants the industry to adopt its aggressive disclosure policies , but Microsoft has so far resisted rather publicly . This latest episode isn ’ t as critical as some of the past disclosures , but it will likely reignite the debate over whether Google , a company with competitive commercial interests , should be leading the way security flaws in rival operating systems are disclosed Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability in the public interest .

A Google Project Zero researcher has published a macOS exploit to demonstrate that Apple is exposing its users to security risks by patching Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability serious flaws in iOS but not revealing the fact until it fixes Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability the same bugs in macOS a week later . This happened during Apple 's update Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability for critical flaws in iOS 12 , tvOS 12 and Safari 12 on September 17 . A Wayback Machine snapshot of the original advisory does n't mention Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability any of the bugs that Project Zero researcher Ivan Fratric had reported Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability to Apple , and which were actually fixed Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability . Then , a week later , after Apple patched Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability the same bugs in macOS , the company updated Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability its original advisory with details about the nine flaws that Fratric had reported Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability , six of which affected Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability Safari . The update fixed Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability a Safari bug that allowed arbitrary code execution on macOS if a vulnerable version of Safari browsed to a website hosting an exploit for the bugs . While Fratric concedes that Apple is probably concealing Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability the fix in iOS to buy time to patch Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability macOS , he argues the end result is that people may ignore an important security update because they were n't properly informed by Apple in the security advisory . `` This practice is misleading because customers interested in the Apple security advisories would most likely read them only once , when they are first released and the impression they would get is that the product updates fix far fewer vulnerabilities and less severe vulnerabilities than is actually the case . '' Even worse , a skilled attacker could use the update for iOS to reverse-engineer a patch , develop an exploit for macOS , and then deploy it against a macOS user-base that does n't have a patch . Users also do n't know that Apple has released information that could make their systems vulnerable to attack . Fratric developed an exploit for one of the Safari bugs he reported and published Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability the attack on Thursday . The bugs were all found Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability using a publicly available fuzzing tool he developed , called Domato , meaning anyone else , including highly advanced attackers , could use it too . `` If a public tool was able to find that many bugs , it is expected that private ones might be even more successful , '' he noted . He was n't aiming to write a reliable or sophisticated exploit , but the bug is useful enough for a skilled exploit writer to develop an attack to spread malware and `` potentially do a lot of damage even with an unreliable exploit '' . Fratric said he successfully tested the exploit on Mac OS 10.13.6 High Sierra , build version 17G65 . `` If you are still using this version , you might want to update , '' noted Fratric . On the upside , it appears Apple and its Safari WebKit team have improved the security of the browser compared with the results of Fratric 's Domato fuzzing efforts last year , which turned up way more bugs in Safari than in Chrome , Internet Explorer , and Edge . Last year he found Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability 17 Safari flaws using the fuzzing tool . His final word of warning is not to discount any of the bugs he found just because no one 's seen them being attacked in the wild . `` While it is easy to brush away such bugs as something we have n't seen actual attackers use , that does n't mean it 's not happening or that it could n't happen , '' the researcher noted .