Microsoft fixes twin XSS, issues new cert requirement

Microsoft on Tuesday released security updates for two vulnerabilities categorised as important.

The update addressed a Visual Studio Team Foundation Server flaw that permitted privilege escalation for attackers if they visited a malicious web page.

A vulnerability in System Center Configuration Manager was also patched. This could allow similar privilege elevations.

None of the issues addressed were known to be under active exploit, according to a blog post at Microsoft Security Response Center.

“To be able to exploit these vulnerabilities, an attacker would craft a malicious link for a victim to click on, allowing them to compromise the victim's system,” Rapid7 security researcher Marcus Carey told SC.

"It's always a good idea to educate employees [or] end-users on how to spot and avoid suspect links."

The update also includes a new certificate requirement that RSA keys be a minimum of 1,024 bits in length. The new rule resulted from the sophisticated Flame virus, in which attackers beat weak crypto algorithms to spread onto target networks.

This article originally appeared at scmagazineus.com