Microsoft Security Bulletin MS14-038 - Critical

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

Vulnerability in Windows Journal Could Allow Remote Code Execution (2975689)

Published: July 8, 2014

Version: 1.0

General Information

Executive Summary

This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft Windows. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted Journal file. 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 all supported editions of Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 (excluding Itanium), Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 (excluding Itanium), Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, Windows RT, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, and Windows RT 8.1. For more information, see the Affected and Non-Affected Software section.

The security update addresses the vulnerability by modifying the way that Windows Journal parses Journal files. For more information about the vulnerability, see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) subsection for the specific vulnerability later in this bulletin.

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 enterprise installations, or administrators and 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: 2975689
• File Information: Yes
• SHA1/SHA2 hashes: Yes
• Known issues: None

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 do not have the 2919355 update installed. This update is not available via the Microsoft Download Center. See the Update FAQ for more information.

^[3]This update is available via Windows Update.

Non-Affected Software

Windows Journal Remote Code Execution Vulnerability - CVE-2014-1824

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way that Windows Journal parses specially crafted files. The vulnerability could lead to remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted Journal file. If a user is logged on with administrative rights, an attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of an affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. 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.

To view this vulnerability as a standard entry in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures list, see CVE-2014-1824.

Mitigating Factors

Mitigation refers to a setting, common configuration, or general best-practice, existing in a default state, that could reduce the severity of exploitation of a vulnerability. The following mitigating factors may be helpful in your situation:

• 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.

Workarounds

Workaround refers to a setting or configuration change that does not correct the underlying vulnerability but would help block known attack vectors before you apply the update. Microsoft has tested the following workarounds and states in the discussion whether a workaround reduces functionality:

• Do not open Windows Journal (.jnt) files that you receive from untrusted sources or that you receive unexpectedly from trusted sources

  Do not open Windows Journal (.jnt) files that you receive from untrusted sources or that you receive unexpectedly from trusted sources. This vulnerability could be exploited when a user opens a specially crafted file.

FAQ

What is the scope of the vulnerability?
This is a remote code execution vulnerability.

What causes the vulnerability?
The vulnerability is caused when a specially crafted Journal file is opened in Windows Journal. The subsequent parsing of the file causes the Journal program to crash in a way that an attacker could execute arbitrary code.

What might an attacker use the vulnerability to do?
An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could cause arbitrary code to execute in the context of the current user. If a user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker could take complete control of the affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. 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.

How could an attacker exploit the vulnerability?
This vulnerability requires that a user open a specially crafted Journal file with an affected version of Windows Journal.

In an email attack scenario, an attacker could exploit the vulnerability by sending a specially crafted Journal file to the user and by convincing the user to open the file.

In a web-based attack scenario, an attacker would have to host a website that contains a Journal file that is used to attempt to exploit this vulnerability. In addition, compromised websites and websites that accept or host user-provided content could contain specially crafted content that could exploit this vulnerability. An attacker would have no way to force users to visit a website that contains a specially crafted Journal file. Instead, an attacker would have to convince them to visit the website, typically by getting them to click a link that takes them to the attacker's site, and then convince them to open the specially crafted Journal file.

What systems are primarily at risk from the vulnerability?
Systems where Windows Journal is used, including workstations and terminal servers, are primarily at risk. Servers could be at more risk if administrators allow users to log on to servers and to run programs. However, best practices strongly discourage allowing this.

What does the update do?
The update addresses the vulnerability by modifying the way that Windows Journal parses Journal files.

When this security bulletin was issued, had this vulnerability been publicly disclosed?
No. Microsoft received information about this vulnerability through coordinated vulnerability disclosure.

When this security bulletin was issued, had Microsoft received any reports that this vulnerability was being exploited?
No. Microsoft had not received any information to indicate that this vulnerability had been publicly used to attack customers when this security bulletin was originally issued.

Detection and Deployment Tools and Guidance

Several resources are available to help administrators deploy security updates. 

• Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) lets administrators scan local and remote systems for missing security updates and common security misconfigurations. 
• Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), Systems Management Server (SMS), and System Center Configuration Manager help administrators distribute security updates. 
• The Update Compatibility Evaluator components included with Application Compatibility Toolkit aid in streamlining the testing and validation of Windows updates against installed applications. 

For information about these and other tools that are available, see Security Tools for IT Pros. 

Security Update Deployment

Windows Vista (all editions)

Reference Table

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