ITinfo: Microsoft Patches Media Player Security Holes

Media Player Security

Popular music application requires security patching

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Microsoft Patches Media Player Security Holes

by Dave Murphy
ISSN 1535-3613

Microsoft has released a patch to plug security holes in its Windows Media Player software that could allow an attacker to run malicious code and access computer files on a users' PC. The patches repair two flaws that affect Media Player versions 6.4 and 7.

Media Player is a popular application for displaying audio and video files downloaded from corporate intranets and the Internet.

The first flaw affects streaming media playlists. A buffer overrun problem allows files to be streamed unchecked, and malicious code can be executed on the PC.

The second flaw causes Internet shortcuts to be saved to the PC's temporary files folder. The stored files can contain HTML code that executes unwanted Internet access commands.

Media Player 6.4 can be patched. Media Play 7 should be upgraded to version 7.1.

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updated May 25, 2001
http://dgl.com/itinfo/2001/it010525.html