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October has been a security flaw-fest, with Apple, Microsoft, and Google issuing patches for vulnerabilities that are being used in real-life attacks. There were also multiple enterprise fixes during the month, with Cisco, VMWare, and Citrix fixing serious security bugs.
Some of the patches are more urgent than others, so read on to find out what you need to know about the updates released in October.
Apple iOS and iPad OS
October was a busy month for Apple, with the iPhone maker issuing its second set of fixes as part of iOS 17.1 at the end of the month. The two dozen security fixes in iOS 17.1 include patches for serious flaws in the Kernel at the heart of the iOS operating system and WebKit, the engine that underpins the Safari browser.
Tracked as CVE-2023-42849, the Kernel issue fixed in iOS 17.1 could allow an attacker that has already achieved code execution to bypass memory mitigations, Apple said on its support page. The three WebKit flaws—tracked as CVE-2023-40447, CVE-2023-41976, and CVE-2023-42852—could lead to arbitrary code execution.
Apple has also issued iOS and iPad OS 16.7.2, fixing the same flaws for users of older devices or those who don’t want to upgrade right away. They came alongside macOS Sonoma 14.1, macOS Ventura 13.6, macOS Monterey 12.7.1, tvOS 17.1, WatchOS 10.1, and Safari 17.1.
Earlier this month, Apple released iOS 17.0.3 and iOS 16.7.1, fixing issues being used in real-life attacks. Tracked as CVE-2023-42824, the first is a Kernel bug that could allow an attacker with access to your device to elevate their privileges.
Apple also fixed CVE-2023-5217, a buffer overflow flaw that could allow an attacker to execute code. Affecting multiple browsers and platforms, the bug has already been patched in Google’s Chrome browser.
Microsoft
Microsoft’s Patch Tuesday has seen the tech giant fix over 100 flaws, including two zero-day vulnerabilities in Microsoft WordPad and Skype for Business.
CVE-2023-36563 is an information disclosure bug in the WordPad word processing program that could expose NTLM hashes and result in NTLM relay attacks. However, it requires user interaction: The attacker must send someone a malicious file and convince them to open it, Microsoft said.
CVE-2023-41763 is an elevation of privilege vulnerability in Skype for Business. “An attacker could make a specially crafted network call to the target Skype for Business server, which could cause the parsing of an http request made to an arbitrary address,” potentially disclosing IP addresses or port numbers, Microsoft said.
Microsoft also patched a flaw in Message Queuing tracked as CVE-2023-35349 with a CVSS critical score of 9.8, which could allow an unauthenticated attacker to remotely execute code.
October’s Patch Tuesday is a particularly urgent one, so it’s important to update as soon as you can.
Google Chrome
Google has released 20 security fixes for its Chrome browser, including one patch for a flaw rated as critical. Tracked as CVE-2023-5218, the bug is a use-after-free issue in Site Isolation. Another six fixes cover inappropriate implementation vulnerabilities marked as having medium impact, while CVE-2023-5476 is a use-after-free flaw in Blink History. Another issue, CVE-2023-5474, is a heap buffer overflow in PDF, according to Google’s blog.
A further four inappropriate implementation vulnerabilities are rated as having a low impact, with Google also fixing a low severity use-after-free bug in Cast tracked as CVE-2023-5473.
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None of the flaws fixed in October have been exploited, but given how actively the browser is targeted, it makes sense to update as soon as you can.
Google Android
Google’s October Android update was a major one because it fixed 53 issues, including two vulnerabilities already being used in real-life attacks. The first is CVE-2023-4863, a heap buffer overflow bug in libwebp affecting the applications that use the library to encode and decode images in the WebP format. This vulnerability impacts many applications and could be used to install spyware, security firm Malwarebytes wrote in a blog.
There are indications that the bug “may be under limited, targeted exploitation,” Google said in an advisory.
CVE-2023-4211 is an issue in Arm components rated as having a high impact, which Google said is also being used in attacks. “A local non-privileged user can make improper GPU memory processing operations to gain access to already freed memory,” Malwarebytes said, adding that the vulnerability affects multiple versions of Arm Mali GPU drivers. These are used in multiple Android device models, including those made by Google, Samsung, Huawei, and Xiaomi.
Another scary flaw in the System tracked as CVE-2023-40129 is rated as critical. “The [vulnerability] could lead to remote code execution with no additional execution privileges needed,” Google said.
The update is available for Google’s Pixel and Samsung’s Galaxy series, so if you have an Android device, check your settings ASAP.
Cisco
Software giant Cisco has released patches to fix two already exploited flaws. Tracked as CVE-2023-20198 and with an eye-watering CVSS score of 10, the first is an issue in the web user interface feature of Cisco IOS XE software. It affects physical and virtual devices running Cisco IOS XE software that also have the HTTP or HTTPS Server feature enabled, researchers at Cisco Talos said in a blog.
“Successful exploitation of CVE-2023-20198 allows an attacker to gain privilege level 15 access to the device, which the attacker can then use to create a local user and log in with normal user access,” the researchers warned.
The attacker can use the new unauthorized local user account to exploit a second vulnerability, CVE-2023-20273, in another component of the WebUI feature. “This allows the adversary to inject commands with elevated root privileges, giving them the ability to run arbitrary commands on the device,” said Talos Intelligence, Cisco’s cybersecurity firm.
Cisco “strongly recommends that customers disable the HTTP Server feature on all internet-facing systems or restrict its access to trusted source addresses,” the firm wrote in an advisory.
VMWare
VMWare has patched two out-of-bounds write and information disclosure vulnerabilities in its vCenter Server. Tracked as CVE-2023-34048, the first is a vulnerability in the implementation of the DCERPC protocol that could lead to remote code execution. VMware has rated the flaw as critical with a CVSS base score of 9.8.
At the other end of the CVSS scale but still worth mentioning is CVE-2023-34056, a partial information disclosure bug with a score of 4.3. “A malicious actor with non-administrative privileges to vCenter Server may leverage this issue to access unauthorized data,” VMWare wrote in an advisory.
Citrix
Enterprise software firm Citrix has issued urgent fixes for vulnerabilities in NetScaler ADC (formerly Citrix ADC) and NetScaler Gateway (formerly Citrix Gateway). Tracked as CVE-2023-4966 and with a CVSS score of 9.4, the first bug could allow an attacker to expose sensitive information.
CVE-2023-4967 is a denial of service issue with a CVSS score of 8.2. Exploits of CVE-2023-4966 on unmitigated appliances “have been observed,” Citrix said. “Cloud Software Group strongly urges customers of NetScaler ADC and NetScaler Gateway to install the relevant updated versions of NetScaler ADC and NetScaler Gateway as soon as possible.”
SAP
SAP’s October Security Patch Day saw the release of seven new security notes, all of which were rated as having a medium impact. Tracked as CVE-2023-42474, the worst flaw is a cross-site scripting vulnerability in SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence with a CVSS score of 6.8.
With only nine new and updated security notes, SAP’s October Patch Day “belongs to the calmest of the last five years,” security firm Onapsis said.
While SAP’s October flaw count was much smaller than its peers’, attackers are still out there, so you should still keep up to date and get patching as soon as you can.
