Source URL: https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/15/patch_tuesday_january_2025/
Source: The Register
Title: Microsoft fixes under-attack privilege-escalation holes in Hyper-V
Feedly Summary: Plus: Excel hell, angst for Adobe fans, and life’s too Snort for Cisco
Patch Tuesday The first Patch Tuesday of 2025 has seen Microsoft address three under-attack privilege-escalation flaws in its Hyper-V hypervisor, plus plenty more problems that deserve your attention.…
AI Summary and Description: Yes
Summary: The text discusses Microsoft’s January 2025 Patch Tuesday, highlighting multiple critical vulnerabilities in Microsoft products including Hyper-V, NTMLv1, and OLE frameworks. These exploited flaws, particularly in the context of privilege escalation and remote code execution, underscore the urgent need for security professionals to act on the patches. The implications extend to organizational security postures, particularly with common software like Excel, which continues to be a target for social engineering attacks.
Detailed Description:
The report details a significant Patch Tuesday event from Microsoft, where multiple vulnerabilities were addressed, particularly noting:
– **Hyper-V Privilege Escalation Flaws**:
– Three critical vulnerabilities, CVE-2025-21333, CVE-2025-21334, and CVE-2025-21335, allow for abuse of memory-safety bugs leading to SYSTEM privileges exploitation.
– Vulnerabilities are already being exploited in the wild as zero-days.
– Present in Windows 10/11 and Windows Server versions 2022 and 2025.
– **NTMLv1 Authentication Issue**:
– CVE-2025-21311, a critical elevation of privilege flaw that can be remotely exploited.
– Microsoft recommends setting LmCompatibilityLevel to the maximum value to mitigate risk.
– **OLE Framework Vulnerability**:
– CVE-2025-21298 allows for arbitrary code execution through crafted Outlook emails. This underscores the importance of user caution regarding email attachments.
– **PGM Exploit Risk**:
– CVE-2025-21307 shows how unauthenticated attackers might execute arbitrary code by sending specially crafted packets. The risk becomes pertinent for systems unsafely exposed on the internet.
– **Critical and High-Severity Flaws**:
– Other vulnerabilities rated both critical and high impact were identified across various applications like Excel, affecting the potential for widespread exploitation given their nature tied to user interaction.
– **Industry-wide Implications**:
– Security experts, like Ben McCarthy from Immersive Labs, emphasize the seriousness of these vulnerabilities due to their high likelihood of being weaponized through social engineering tactics.
– The importance of patch management as a critical aspect of overall security practices is reinforced, particularly concerning widely used software like Microsoft Excel.
Key Insights for Security Professionals:
– **Immediate Patch Implementation**: Organizations must prioritize patching these vulnerabilities to prevent exploitation.
– **User Awareness**: Staff training around the risks of social engineering and phishing attacks remains paramount in mitigating risks associated with exploits, particularly those involving user interaction.
– **Monitoring and Controls**: Enhanced monitoring for suspicious activity related to privileged access and code execution attempts should be a part of any security posture following such vulnerabilities.
In conclusion, this Patch Tuesday emphasizes ongoing risks linked to privilege escalation and arbitrary code execution vulnerabilities in widely used software, necessitating urgent actions from security and compliance professionals to protect sensitive systems and data.