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Microsoft has issued another critical patch outside of the standard patching schedule.  This vulnerability was just too important to ignore for the rest of the month.  This serious weakness was reported yesterday in Security Bulletin MS08-067, and once again could allow Remote Code Execution on your computer or server.

One can only assume that this is a very easy exploit, considering the move by Microsoft to release outside of their standard monthly cycle.  The patch is being pushed down via Microsoft Update.

[more]The Executive Summary from the bulletin outlines:

This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in the Server service. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if an affected system received a specially crafted RPC request. On Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 systems, an attacker could exploit this vulnerability without authentication to run arbitrary code. It is possible that this vulnerability could be used in the crafting of a wormable exploit. Firewall best practices and standard default firewall configurations can help protect network resources from attacks that originate outside the enterprise perimeter.

This security update is rated Critical for all supported editions of Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and rated Important for all supported editions of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. For more information, see the subsection, Affected and Non-Affected Software, in this section.

The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting the way that the Server service handles RPC requests. For more information about the vulnerability, see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) subsection for the specific vulnerability entry under the next section, Vulnerability Information.

Recommendation. Microsoft recommends that customers apply the update immediately.

Promise me that if you care about the security of your systems, you’ll patch this right away! 

CNET offers some additional defensive computing advice to Windows users in their article Time to patch Windows again, ASAP.  They suggest disabling services that you don’t need to lower the attach surface area of your system, in addition to properly configuring your firewalls.