In its recent Patch Tuesday release, Microsoft fixed 118 vulnerabilities, including five zero-day flaws, two of which are currently being exploited. The updates affect multiple Microsoft products, such as Windows, Office, Azure, .NET, and Visual Studio.
Zero-Day Vulnerabilities:
Among the five zero-day vulnerabilities patched, two were actively exploited in the wild:
CVE-2024-43573: A spoofing vulnerability in the Windows MSHTML platform allows attackers to manipulate web content, which could result in unauthorized user actions. This flaw is connected to earlier MSHTML exploits.
CVE-2024-43572: A remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability in the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) can be triggered by harmful MSC files, enabling attackers to run arbitrary code. Microsoft has addressed this by blocking untrusted MSC files from opening.
The other zero-day vulnerabilities include:
CVE-2024-6197: A remote code execution flaw in Curl that could be triggered by connecting to harmful servers.
CVE-2024-20659: A method to bypass security in Windows Hyper-V that could allow access to virtual machines on UEFI hosts.
CVE-2024-43583: a security issue in Winlogon that could allow attackers to gain full control
Other Notable Vulnerabilities:
The update also addressed several other significant vulnerabilities:
CVE-2024-38179: There is a vulnerability in Azure Stack Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI) that allows unauthorized access and control of affected systems.
CVE-2024-38149: A vulnerability that can cause network services to stop working.
The October update included fixes for:
28 Elevation of Privilege vulnerabilities
43 Remote Code Execution vulnerabilities
26 Denial of Service vulnerabilities
7 Security Feature Bypass vulnerabilities
6 Information Disclosure vulnerabilities
7 Spoofing vulnerabilities.
Microsoft urges the need to quickly apply updates due to two actively exploited zero-day vulnerabilities. Users and organizations should prioritize patching to reduce risks. The company is also working to improve its security measures against evolving threats.
IT administrators and cybersecurity professionals must continuously monitor and quickly apply patches. Regular updates and following cybersecurity best practices are crucial for protecting systems from exploitation.
Users should quickly apply these updates to safeguard against potential attacks. The table lists the vulnerabilities fixed in this Patch Tuesday release.
Other vendors who released updates or advisories in October 2024 include:
Cisco releases security updates for multiple products, including Cisco Meraki MX and Z Series Teleworker Gateway, Cisco Nexus Dashboard, and routers.
DrayTek released security updates for 14 vulnerabilities in various router models.
Fortinet fixes four vulnerabilities in various firmware, with none reported as actively exploited.
Ivanti released security updates for three zero-days chained in active attacks.
Optigo Networks released security updates for two flaws in its ONS-S8 Aggregation Switch products.
Qualcomm released security patches for a zero-day vulnerability in the Digital Signal Processor (DSP) service.
SAP releases security updates for multiple products as part of October Patch Day.