A new flaw discovered in two of Microsoft's operating systems is leaving machines vulnerable to hack attacks.
The "moderately critical" issue was discovered by Danish security research firm Secunia in Windows 2000 and XP, although the company indicated it could affect other versions too.
In a security advisory, Secunia said: "The vulnerability is caused due to a boundary error in the "UpdateFrameTitleForDocument()" function of the CFrameWnd class in mfc42.dll. This can be exploited to cause a stack-based buffer overflow by passing an overly long title string argument to the affected function."
"Successful exploitation may allow execution of arbitrary code."
Secunia has claimed the solution to the bug would be to "restrict access to applications allowing user-controlled input to be passed to the vulnerable function."
Microsoft acknowledged the concerns via its Microsoft Security Response Twitter feed and said: "We are investigating reports of a vulnerability in mfc42.dll affecting Windows 2000 and XP. Will update when we have more information."
-
RSAC Conference 2025: The front line of cyber innovationITPro Podcast Ransomware, quantum computing, and an unsurprising focus on AI were highlights of this year's event
-
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei thinks we're burying our heads in the sand on AI job lossesNews With AI set to hit entry-level jobs especially, some industry execs say clear warning signs are being ignored
-
Tiny11 review: Windows 11 with only 2GB of RAMReview A version of Windows 11 for older machines that don't meet the full requirements
-
Red Hat Enterprise Linux becomes foundational operating system for Cohesity Data CloudNews New strategic partnership between Red Hat and Cohesity aims to drive innovation in the data security and management space
-
Ubuntu shifts to four-week update cycleNews Critical fixes will also come every two weeks, mitigating the issues involved with releasing prompt patches on the old three-week cadence
-
AlmaLinux follows Oracle in ditching RHEL compatibilityNews Application binary compatibility is now the aim with 1:1 now dropped
-
How big is the Windows 10 cliff-edge?ITPro Network With some comparing the upcoming Windows 10 end of life to Windows XP, we ask members of the ITPro Network for their insight
-
Everything you need to know about the latest Windows 11 updates - from bug fixes to brand-new featuresNews Two new cumulative updates are on the way and will be installed automatically on Windows 10 and Windows 11 machines
-
How to download a Windows 11 ISO file and perform a clean installTutorial Use a Windows 11 ISO to install the operating system afresh
-
We could all benefit from better Windows and macOS accessibility featuresOpinion Today’s accessibility features can help you work through a nasty injury, but there’s still plenty of room for improvement
