Tag Archives: OpenType font

Patch now: Microsoft Emergency Fix

Yesterday Microsoft released an emergency security update for all of the supported Windows version (this means Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1, Windows RT and apparently even the unreleased Windows 10). The patch is supposed to fix an exploit that would allow hackers to access another computer easily.  According to the company the flaw lies in the way the Windows Adobe Type Manager Library improperly handles specially crafted OpenType fonts.

“An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability 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,” Microsoft says in their security bulletin. “There are multiple ways an attacker could exploit this vulnerability, such as by convincing a user to open a specially crafted document, or by convincing a user to visit an untrusted webpage that contains embedded OpenType fonts. The update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how the Windows Adobe Type Manager Library handles OpenType fonts.“

Microsoft also says that while they had information that indicates that the issue was public there is no evidence that the vulnerability was used in any actual attack on customers.

The vulnerability itself was apparently found after going through loads of data from the Hacking Team email breach.

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