Microsoft’s December 2024 Patch Tuesday Update

Key Vulnerabilities and Fixes

The December update includes several high-priority patches for critical vulnerabilities, particularly focusing on remote code execution (RCE) flaws. Out of the 71 vulnerabilities, 16 are categorised as critical, all of which are remote code execution vulnerabilities. The complete breakdown of the flaws includes:

1. 27 Elevation of Privilege Vulnerabilities

2. 30 Remote Code Execution Vulnerabilities

3. 7 Information Disclosure Vulnerabilities

4. 5 Denial of Service Vulnerabilities

5. 1 Spoofing Vulnerability

It's worth noting that this count does not include two Edge flaws, which were addressed earlier in December on the 5th and 6th.

Exploited Zero-Day Vulnerability Fixed

This month's Patch Tuesday also addresses one critical, actively exploited zero-day vulnerability:

1. CVE-2024-49138 – A Windows Common Log File System Driver Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability.

This flaw enables attackers to elevate their privileges to SYSTEM level on Windows devices. Although the details on how this vulnerability has been exploited remain scarce, it was discovered by the Advanced Research Team at CrowdStrike. This suggests that more information about its exploitation will likely emerge in future reports.

Updates from Other Vendors

Alongside Microsoft, other vendors have also released important security patches this December:

1. Adobe: Released updates for multiple products, including Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, and more.

2. CISA: Published advisories on vulnerabilities in industrial control systems, including those from MOBATIME, Schneider Electric, and others.

3. Cleo: Addressed an actively exploited zero-day impacting their security file transfer products.

4. Cisco: Released patches for vulnerabilities in several products, including Cisco NX-OS and Cisco ASA.

5. IO-Data: Fixed zero-day router flaws being exploited in attacks.

6. 0patch: Issued an unofficial patch for a Windows zero-day that allows NTLM credential capture.

7. OpenWrt: Provided security updates for a flaw in their Sysupgrade system.

8. SAP: Released fixes for vulnerabilities in various SAP products.

9. Veeam: Issued security patches for a critical RCE bug in their Service Provider Console.

To Sum Up

To see the full list of resolved vulnerabilities and their impact on various systems, you can access the full report here.

Staying on top of these updates is essential for maintaining the security of your systems and protecting against potential exploits.