Hi everyone,

Today we released Security Advisory 980088 to address a publicly disclosed vulnerability in Internet Explorer that may allow Information Disclosure for customers running on Windows XP or who have disabled Internet Explorer Protected Mode.  At this time we are not aware of any attacks seeking to use the vulnerability.

Customers running Internet Explorer 7 or Internet Explorer 8 in their default configuration on Windows Vista or later operating systems are not vulnerable to this issue as they benefit from Internet Explorer Protected Mode, which protects from this issue. Windows XP users, or users who have disabled Protected Mode, can help protect themselves by implementing Network Protocol Lockdown. We have created a Microsoft Fix It to automate this. The Fix It can be run on individual systems or enterprises can deploy it through their automated systems. 

We are working to produce an update for this vulnerability and when that is complete, we will take appropriate action to protect customers, which may include releasing an update out-of-band.   As with any update, we have to balance overall quality and ensure application compatibility before we release it.

Microsoft is also working with our Microsoft Active Protections Program (MAPP)  partners to help provide broader protections for customers. Together with our partners, we will continue to monitor the threat landscape and will take action against any web sites that seek to exploit this vulnerability.

We continue to encourage customers to upgrade to Internet Explorer 8 to benefit from the increased protections provided in the newer version. In addition, customers should continue to follow our “Protect Your Computer” guidance at http://www.microsoft.com/protect.

Thanks!

Jerry Bryant
Sr. Security Communications Manager – Lead

*This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.*

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Posted By: SGT Oddball
03 Feb 2010