Microsoft Security Bulletin MS14-039 - Important

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

Vulnerability in On-Screen Keyboard Could Allow Elevation of Privilege (2975685)

Published: July 8, 2014 | Updated: July 16, 2014

Version: 1.1

General Information

Executive Summary

This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft Windows. The vulnerability could allow elevation of privilege if an attacker uses a vulnerability in a low integrity process to execute the On-Screen Keyboard (OSK) and upload a specially crafted program to the target system.

This security update is rated Important for all supported releases of Windows except Windows Server 2003. For more information, see the Affected and Non-Affected Software section.

The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how some programs communicate with programs of a different integrity level. For more information about the vulnerability, see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) subsection for the specific vulnerability 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 at the earliest opportunity 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 in this bulletin.

For additional guidance, see the Detection and Deployment Tools and Guidance section in this bulletin.

Knowledge Base Article

• Knowledge Base Article: 2975685
• 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 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

On-Screen Keyboard Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability - CVE-2014-2781

A vulnerability exists in the On-Screen Keyboard that could allow a local elevation of privilege.

To view this vulnerability as a standard entry in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures list, see CVE-2014-2781.

Mitigating Factors

Microsoft has not identified any mitigating factors for this vulnerability.

Workarounds

Microsoft has not identified any workarounds for this vulnerability.

FAQ

What is the scope of the vulnerability?
This is a local elevation of privilege vulnerability.

What causes the vulnerability?
The vulnerability is caused when the On-Screen keyboard is executed from within the context of a low integrity process.

What is On-Screen Keyboard (OSK)?
On-Screen Keyboard (OSK) is an Ease of Access tool in Microsoft Windows that allows users to move around their PC and enter text without having to use a physical, external keyboard. OSK displays a visual keyboard with all the standard keys, which is accessible using a touch screen, mouse or other pointing device.

What might an attacker use the vulnerability to do?
An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could cause an arbitrary program to execute at the same integrity level as the current user.

How could an attacker exploit the vulnerability?
To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would have to first use a vulnerability in a low integrity process to execute the On-Screen Keyboard and then have a method of uploading a specially crafted program to the target system.

What systems are primarily at risk from the vulnerability?
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 correcting how some programs communicate with programs of a different integrity level. For more detailed information about the functionality changes that have been implemented with this update, see KBDLLHOOKSTRUCT structure and MSLLHOOKSTRUCT structure.

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.