Microsoft Security Bulletin MS14-021 - Critical

• 10/11/2017
• 43 minutes to read
• • 

Security Update for Internet Explorer (2965111)

Published: May 1, 2014

Version: 1.1

General Information

Executive Summary

This security update resolves a publicly disclosed vulnerability in Internet Explorer. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a user views a specially crafted webpage using an affected version of Internet Explorer. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the current user. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.

This security update is rated Critical for Internet Explorer 6 (IE 6), Internet Explorer 7 (IE 7), Internet Explorer 8 (IE 8), Internet Explorer 9 (IE 9), Internet Explorer 10 (IE 10), and Internet Explorer 11 (IE 11) on affected Windows clients, and Moderate for Internet Explorer 6 (IE 6), Internet Explorer 7 (IE 7), Internet Explorer 8 (IE 8), Internet Explorer 9 (IE 9), Internet Explorer 10 (IE 10), and Internet Explorer 11 (IE 11) on affected Windows servers. For more information, see the subsection, Affected and Non-Affected Software, in this section.

The security update addresses the vulnerability by modifying the way that Internet Explorer handles objects in memory. For more information about the vulnerability, see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) subsection for the specific vulnerability entry later in this bulletin.

This security update addresses the vulnerability first described in Microsoft Security Advisory 2963983.

Recommendation. Most customers have automatic updating enabled and will not need to take any action because this security update will be downloaded and installed automatically. For information about specific configuration options in automatic updating, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 294871. For Customers who do not have automatic updating enabled, the steps in Turn automatic updating on or off can be used to enable automatic updating.

For administrators and enterprise installations, or end users who want to install this security update manually (including customers who have not enabled automatic updating), Microsoft recommends that customers apply the update immediately using update management software, or by checking for updates using the Microsoft Update service. The updates are also available via the download links in the Affected Software table later in this bulletin.

See also the section, Detection and Deployment Tools and Guidance, later in this bulletin.

Knowledge Base Article

• Knowledge Base Article: 2965111
• File Information: Yes
• SHA1/SHA2 hashes: Yes
• Known issues: Yes

Affected and Non-Affected Software

The following software has been tested to determine which versions or editions are affected. Other versions or editions are either past their support life cycle or are not affected. To determine the support life cycle for your software version or edition, see Microsoft Support Lifecycle.

Affected Software 

^[2]This update is for systems that have the 2929437 update installed. See the Update FAQ for more information.

^[3]This update is for systems that have the 2919355 update installed. See the Update FAQ for more information.

Non-Applicable Software

Update FAQ

There are multiple updates listed for Internet Explorer 11. Do I need to install all the updates?
No. Depending on how your system is configured to receive updates, only one of the updates for Internet Explorer 11 may apply.

For systems running Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2:

• The 2964358 update is for systems that have the 2929437 update installed.
• The 2964444 update is for systems without the 2929437 update installed.

For systems running Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, or Windows RT 8.1:

• The 2964358 update is for systems that have the 2919355 update installed.
• The 2964444 update is for systems without the 2919355 update installed.

For Internet Explorer 11, are there any prerequisites for the 2964358 update?
Yes. Customers running Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, or Windows RT 8.1, must first install the 2919355 update released in April, 2014 before installing the 2964358 update. For more information about this prerequisite update, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 2919355.

Customers running Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2, must first install the 2929437 update released in April, 2014 before installing the 2964358 update. For more information about this prerequisite update, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 2929437.

Is this update, MS14-021, a cumulative security update for Internet Explorer?
No. This security update, MS14-021, only addresses the vulnerability described in this bulletin.

Do I need to install the last cumulative security update for Internet Explorer?
Yes. This security update, MS14-021, is not a cumulative security update. Customers who have not installed the latest cumulative security update for Internet Explorer are likely to experience compatibility issues, such as Internet Explorer may intermittently stop responding, after installing the MS14-021 update.

Note that the order of installation does matter. To avoid compatibility issues, the MS14-021 security update must be installed after installing the latest cumulative security update for Internet Explorer.

Refer to the following table for details:

• If you applied the workaround to modify the Access Control List (ACL) on VGX.DLL, then you must undo this workaround before applying this security update. To undo this workaround, from an elevated command prompt, run the following command:

  echo y| cacls "%CommonProgramFiles%\Microsoft Shared\VGX\vgx.dll" /g original ACLs
  

  where original ACLs are the original user access rights before the workaround was applied. Alternatively, the access to vgx.dll could be set to everyone using the following command from an elevated command prompt:

  echo y| cacls "%CommonProgramFiles%\Microsoft Shared\VGX\vgx.dll" /E /R everyone
  

  You should repeat the above for "%CommonProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Shared\VGX\vgx.dll" on 64-bit systems. Also note that if icacls was used instead of cacls to apply the workaround, then use icacls to restore the original ACLs.

  For example, these commands for icacls could be run from an elevated command prompt:

  icacls "%CommonProgramFiles%\Microsoft Shared\VGX\vgx.dll" /grant everyone:(F)
  icacls "%CommonProgramFiles%\Microsoft Shared\VGX\vgx.dll" /restore %TEMP%\VGX_ACL.TXT
  

  where VGX_ACL.TXT is the backup file created to save the original user access rights when the workaround was applied using icacls.

  You should repeat the above for "%CommonProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Shared\VGX\vgx.dll" on 64-bit systems.

• If you applied the workaround to unregister VGX.DLL, you do not have to undo this workaround before applying the security update. However, the security update will not re-register vgx.dll. See the Workarounds section for the vulnerability for steps on how to re-register vgx.dll.

  Note For users running 64-bit systems who applied the original unregister VGX.DLL workaround documented in version 1.0 of Microsoft Security Advisory 2963983, please apply the updated workaround as described in this security bulletin for 64-bit systems.

• If you applied any of the other workarounds from Microsoft Security Advisory 2963983, you do not have to undo the workaround before applying the security update.

How are Server Core installations affected by the vulnerability addressed in this bulletin?
The vulnerability addressed by this update do not affect supported editions of Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, or Windows Server 2012 R2 as indicated in the Non-Applicable Software table, when installed using the Server Core installation option. For more information on this installation option, see the TechNet articles, Managing a Server Core Installation: Overview, Servicing a Server Core Installation, and Server Core and Full Server Integration Overview.

I am using an older release of the software discussed in this security bulletin. What should I do?
The affected software listed in this bulletin has been tested to determine which releases are affected. Other releases are past their support life cycle. For more information about the product lifecycle, see the Microsoft Support Lifecycle website.

It should be a priority for customers who have older releases of the software to migrate to supported releases to prevent potential exposure to vulnerabilities. To determine the support lifecycle for your software release, see Select a Product for Lifecycle Information. For more information about service packs for these software releases, see Service Pack Lifecycle Support Policy.

Customers who require custom support for older software must contact their Microsoft account team representative, their Technical Account Manager, or the appropriate Microsoft partner representative for custom support options. Customers without an Alliance, Premier, or Authorized Contract can contact their local Microsoft sales office. For contact information, see the Microsoft Worldwide Information website, select the country in the Contact Information list, and then click Go to see a list of telephone numbers. When you call, ask to speak with the local Premier Support sales manager. For more information, see the Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy FAQ.

Severity Ratings and Vulnerability Identifiers

The following severity ratings assume the potential maximum impact of the vulnerability. For information regarding the likelihood, within 30 days of this security bulletin's release, of the exploitability of the vulnerability in relation to its severity rating and security impact, please see the Exploitability Index in the May bulletin summary. For more information, see Microsoft Exploitability Index.

Table 1: Internet Explorer 6

Table 2: Internet Explorer 7

Table 3: Internet Explorer 8

Table 4: Internet Explorer 9

Table 5: Internet Explorer 10

Table 6: Internet Explorer 11

Internet Explorer Memory Corruption Vulnerability - CVE-2014-1776

A remote code execution vulnerability exists when Internet Explorer improperly accesses objects in memory. This vulnerability could corrupt memory in such a way that an attacker could execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user.

To view this vulnerability as a standard entry in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures list, click the link in the following table:

Windows Server 2003 (all editions)

Reference Table

The following table contains the security update information for this software.

Windows Vista (all editions)

Reference Table

The following table contains the security update information for this software.