Version: 2008
  • On TV.com: THE OFFICE: Cue Sad Horn Noise

June 1, 2006 6:54 PM PDT

Microsoft probes Windows DoS flaw

  • 1 comment
Microsoft is looking into a report of a Windows flaw that could cause certain applications to crash, the software maker said Thursday.

The potential flaw affects Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, Microsoft said in a statement. The bug could cause certain applications, including Internet Explorer, to crash after a user is tricked to click on an overly long Web link, security monitoring company Secunia said in an alert.

The flaw might also allow malicious code to run on a vulnerable system, Secunia said. However, that has not been proven, so the issue is so far deemed to be a denial of service, or DoS, problem only, Secunia said. The company deems the issue "less critical," one notch above its lowest possible rating.

Microsoft is investigating the issue, a company representative said in an e-mailed statement. The software maker is not aware of any attacks that attempt to use the flaw, the representative said. Once the investigation is complete, Microsoft may issue a security advisory of a patch, it said.

The Windows issue is one of several reported security issues awaiting a response from Microsoft. One issue the Redmond, Wash., company has said it will address with a security update later this month is a flaw in Word. That flaw has already been exploited in at least one targeted cyberattack.

See more CNET content tagged:
flaw, software company, Microsoft Corp., security, Microsoft Windows

Add a Comment (Log in or register)
wanting to talk
by jamdownqueencake June 2, 2006 11:32 AM PDT
how do i talk to my contacts person to person?
Reply to this comment
advertisement

Latest tech news headlines

RSS Feeds

Add headlines from CNET News to your homepage or feedreader.

More feeds available in our RSS feed index.

Markets

Market news, charts, SEC filings, and more

Related quotes

Microsoft (0.50%) 0.15 29.98
Dow Jones Industrials (0.22%) 22.75 10,388.90
S&P 500 (0.55%) 6.06 1,105.98
NASDAQ (0.98%) 21.21 2,194.35
CNET TECH (0.29%) 4.71 1,602.07
  Symbol Lookup
advertisement

Inside CNET News

Scroll Left Scroll Right