Microsoft denies Windows Media Player flaw

NEWS

Microsoft on Monday denounced reports that a vulnerability exists in Windows Media Player that could pose a security risk for users.

Microsoft said in a company blog post that it had investigated reports that surfaced on the internet last week and found them to be "false". The flaw is a "reliability issue with no security risk to customers", the company said on its Security Vulnerability Research & Defense blog.

The investigation followed claims published on Wednesday on the Bugtraq security mailing list by researcher Laurent Gaffie that a vulnerability existed in Windows Media Player 9, 10 and 11. Gaffie said the vulnerability would allow a hacker to create a malformed WAV, SND or Midi file to create a denial of service, and included a proof-of-concept code.

Along with the denial, Microsoft criticised Gaffie for publishing his claims without first contacting the company.

"The security researcher making the initial report didn't contact us or work with us directly but instead posted the report along with proof-of-concept code to a public mailing list," said Microsoft.

"After that report, other organisations picked the report up and claimed that the issue was a code-execution vulnerability in Windows Media Player. Those claims are false. We've found no possibility for code execution in this issue. Yes, the proof-of-concept code does trigger a crash of Windows Media Player, but the application can be restarted right away and doesn't affect the rest of the system," Microsoft said.

The company said that the flaw had already been identified during routine code maintenance and corrected in Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2.

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in

Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

Will not be displayed with your comment

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Membership FAQ

ZDNet UK Live

lezlow

it is only greedy[microsoft]?

46 minutes ago by lezlow on Researchers break into BitLocker
dava4444

it didn't post the link it's 'Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx Beta-1 First Look' on youtube :) Dava

2 hours ago by dava4444 on Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx) and the Latest Tempest
dava4444

Hi James I disagree, Ubuntu needs a GUI update and this one IMO is quite good. your pics show a low res. here's a high res. on YouTube* The...

2 hours ago by dava4444 on Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx) and the Latest Tempest
dava4444

Hi any news on the comment bot? knocking me back from my own blog is a bit cheeky lol *Mulder to Scully* "I think it has an agenda.." I know, I...

3 hours ago by dava4444 on ZDNet UK: faster, smarter, still IT all the way
benny boy

if you look at the Brentwood exchange on samknows it servers 21,000 residential propertiesm, Lowestoft serves 31,000! Come on BT sort yourselves...

3 hours ago by benny boy on BT fibre broadband coming to 69 more towns
pbreddit

[programming] H.264 - a sting in the tail http://reddit.com/bfu4q [zdnet.co.uk]

reddit

H.264 - a sting in the tail [programming] 13 points, submitted by zigzag [zdnet.co.uk] http://reddit.com/bfu4q

cybfor

Malware infects second Vodafone HTC phone: [zdnet.co.uk] A second Android-based HTC Magic from Vodafone has been... http://dlvr.it/KhKx

miyabi81

Chatter preview http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/application-development/2010/03/17/salesforce-opens-up-chatter-developer-preview-40088348/

cybfor

US gov t considers undercover social networking: [zdnet.co.uk] The Obama administration has considered sending... http://dlvr.it/Kh3L

sudipta_vodafone

Please give me chance in the vodafone essar Ltd as back office executive

10 hours ago by sudipta_vodafone on Vodafone culls 375 'mainly back-office' jobs
sudipta_vodafone

I want to get a back office job in vodafone direct payroll

10 hours ago by sudipta_vodafone on Vodafone culls 375 'mainly back-office' jobs
Xwindowsjunkie

I also find it harder to use. It used to scale properly in Firefox. Text would size up and down without dragging all the right edge debris with it....

14 hours ago by Xwindowsjunkie on ZDNet UK: faster, smarter, still IT all the way
dava4444

that comment bot is a nutter, it just referred me to the moderator on my own blog. shocked look. please help thank you Dava I'm afriad to...

17 hours ago by dava4444 on Welcome to the new ZDNet UK community!
dava4444

Hi Rupert! Don't think I could fill the above shoes... but if your ever looking for a consumer rights Tech blogger..tip me the wink lol peace Dava

19 hours ago by dava4444 on Fancy working for ZDNet UK?
dava4444

Hi Rupert My photo is gone from my profile and I just got told i was a spammer by the comment bot. the navigation is gone for my profile. :O on...

19 hours ago by dava4444 on Welcome to the new ZDNet UK community!
ator1940

With windows it is always more bloat, and a lot of that seems to be duplicated in various places. I've noticed that you will have freed space on...

1 day ago by ator1940 on Can you believe it - 2765 kB will be freed?
BuzzMyStat

Buzz My Stat : New search for http://www.zdnet.co.uk Take a look: http://www.buzzmystat.com/site/zdnet.co.uk

Karen Friar

Hi Jamie, I'm sorry your comment got caught in the spam filter. We use an industry standard blacklist for this. I suspect that the comment may...

1 day ago by Karen Friar on Spam? Filter Changed?
J.A. Watson

Pop - Neither have I. Ever, under any circumstances. I'm much more accustomed to Windows slowly, but inexorably, consuming more and more disk...

1 day ago by J.A. Watson on Can you believe it - 2765 kB will be freed?

Featured white papers

Achieving PCI Compliance for:Privileged Password Management & Remote Vendor Access

For multi-store outlets, including retail, banking, grocery, gas, hospitality, convenience stores and others, reducing (or avoiding) the cost of in-store system support and maintenance while maintaining compliance with PCI and other requirements has become a strategic challenge.

Download now

Web 2.0 Security Threats: How to Protect Your Enterprise Network

Speaker: Dr. Chenxi Wang, Principal Analyst, Security and Risk Management, Forrester Research, Inc. As Enterprises are increasingly connected to the Internet and as hard organizational boundaries are fast disappearing, security professionals are facing fresh challenges in Enterprise computing.

Download now

MindManager - Tutorial for New Users - Short

This tutorial is for new MindManager users and teaches you how to get started, by creating maps, reading maps and organizing your information.

Download now