Microsoft released an out-of-band update for Windows 10
to patch a couple of high-severity vulnerabilities affecting the Windows Codecs
Library that would allow attackers to execute arbitrary code.
Windows 10 users are used to getting major updates during
Patch Tuesdays, which comes once a month. The current cycle is scheduled to
land on July 14, but sometimes the problems are so severe that developers hurry
patches along.
A patch can also be pushed ahead of time when major
vulnerabilities are found to be actively exploited in the wild. Microsoft does
say that it’s not currently exploited in the wild, but the fact that they could
potentially impact hundreds of millions of Windows 10 versions, from all over
the world, is reason enough for a quick patch.
“A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way
that Microsoft Windows Codecs Library handles objects in memory,” reads the advisory.
“An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could obtain
information to further compromise the user’s system. Exploitation of the
vulnerability requires that a program process a specially crafted image file.”
The issue is all the more problematic for users because
there are no known mitigations for the CVE-2020-1425
and CVE-2020-1457
vulnerabilities, meaning that the only way to ensure protection is to install
the patches.
The biggest issue with vulnerabilities that affect such a
wide range of users is that, one or two years from now, a considerable number
of devices will still be vulnerable because they haven’t applied the patch.
The security update is being rolled out through the
Microsoft Store, which means that it doesn’t require the user’s input, allowing
the patch to reach many more people than through regular channels.