The vulnerability was released the day after Microsoft issued its November patches.

Thomas Claburn, Editor at Large, Enterprise Mobility

November 12, 2009

2 Min Read

Security researcher Laurent Graffie mocked Microsoft's Secure Development Lifecycle process in a blog post on Wednesday in which he published proof-of-concept exploit code that he claims can crash Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.

"This bug is a real proof that SDL #FAIL," he wrote, adding "The bug is so noob it should have been spotted 2 years ago by the SDL if the SDL [had] ever existed."

The vulnerability appears to reside in Microsoft's Windows Sever Message Block (SMB) software.

Microsoft patched a previous SMB vulnerability in late September, one that Graffie disclosed -- irresponsibly, Microsoft claimed -- earlier that month.

Responsible disclosure generally involves notifying software vendors about vulnerabilities so they can create a patch before the information becomes public.

In the case of Graffie's latest find, he says that he notified Microsoft on November 8 and released his proof-of-concept code on November 11.

In an e-mailed statement, Christopher Budd, security response communications lead at Microsoft, said that the company is investigating a possible denial-of-service vulnerability in Windows Server Message Block.

"We're currently unaware of any attacks trying to use the claimed vulnerability or of customer impact," he said. "Once we're done investigating, we will take appropriate action to help protect customers. This may include providing a security update through the monthly release process, an out-of-cycle update or additional guidance to help customers protect themselves."

Simon Price, writing for the Praetorian Perfect blog, claims to have tested the exploit successfully.

"The operating system actually freezes," he said. "There is no error message, no blue screen of death, no indication that anything has gone wrong. Even after power cycling, the event logs show no sign of a mishap, aside from the typical events generated from booting up again."

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About the Author(s)

Thomas Claburn

Editor at Large, Enterprise Mobility

Thomas Claburn has been writing about business and technology since 1996, for publications such as New Architect, PC Computing, InformationWeek, Salon, Wired, and Ziff Davis Smart Business. Before that, he worked in film and television, having earned a not particularly useful master's degree in film production. He wrote the original treatment for 3DO's Killing Time, a short story that appeared in On Spec, and the screenplay for an independent film called The Hanged Man, which he would later direct. He's the author of a science fiction novel, Reflecting Fires, and a sadly neglected blog, Lot 49. His iPhone game, Blocfall, is available through the iTunes App Store. His wife is a talented jazz singer; he does not sing, which is for the best.

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