Microsoft Dismisses Reports of WMP Vulnerability

Pulkit Chandna — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 07:24:45 -0600

Microsoft has gone on record to rebuff an alleged vulnerability in Windows Media Player that could facilitate remote code execution. The company said that it found all such reports regarding a WMP vulnerability to be false.

The reports of the vulnerability first surfaced after researcher Laurent Gaffie detailed the alleged threat and furnished the proof-of-concept code to make his case. Gaffie’s decision to go public with his findings without informing Microsoft hasn’t gone down well with the company.

After investigating the claims Microsoft acknowledged, in a blog post, that the proof-of-concept code does force WMP to crash but it can not be used for remote code execution.

Why Wait for SP1? Improve Windows Vista Now!

Mark Soper — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 21:43:38 -0500

Everybody with Windows Vista wants the final release of SP1 now - even Microsoft. Unfortunately, only about 12,000 beta testers have SP1 at this point. Fortunately, you don't need to wait for SP1's official release to get your hands on improvements for various pieces of Windows Vista, including Windows Media Player 11, Media Center, USB support, and others.

Compatibility, Reliability, and Stability, the Sequel

Grab the update discussed in Knowledge Base 941649 to improve this trio of PC requirements in a variety of ways for both 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) releases:

- longer battery life
- better stability for battery powered PCs, including both portables and desktop PCs using UPS units
- reliability with startup programs
- faster startup time
- faster recovery time from inactivity or when using the Photos screen saver
- better wireless network stability
- better stability for Windows PowerShell scripting
- compatibility fixes for some third-party antivirus programs - better reliability under certain network driver configurations

Fixes for Windows Media Player 11 and Media Center

Grab the next update to improve reliability, specifically for Windows Media Player. The Knowledge Base article for this update (941651) isn't up at the Microsoft website yet, but here are the direct links for the 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

[Update 10-11-2007: Knowledge Base Article 941651 is now available]

Media Center fans should run, not walk, to pick up the update discussed in Knowledge Base article 941229, especially if you use the Xbox 360 as a Media Center extender, Scientific Atlanta cable cards, or Video CDs. This fix also replaces the April and June cumulative updates for Windows Media Center.

USB Fixes Galore

The USB cumulative update rollup for USB core components in Windows Vista (941600) offers three types of fixes in one:

- first, it rolls 13 exiting separate fixes into a single download
- second, it fixes various problems with suspend and hibernation
- third, it fixes various 0XFE STOP errors

XML Core Services Update

The final Vista update just released is for XML Core Services 4.0 Service Pack 2. Learn more from Knowledge Base article 941833.

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