Anti virus vendor Trend Micro is warning users
against a potentially serious vulnerability that exists in more
than 30 of its security applications.
If the vulnerability is exploited, the company said that an
attacker could remotely install and execute code or cause a system
crash resulting in the infamous Windows "blue screen of
death."
The problem exists in the Trend Micro Scan Engine, a core component
of the company's anti-virus applications. When the Scan Engine
encounters a certain type of malformed .exe file, it triggers a
denial of service (DoS) crash. The DoS can then either be used to
remotely install and execute malware code.
Because the vulnerability allows attackers to remotely install and
execute code on vulnerable systems, security company Secunia rated the
vulnerability "highly critical," its second-highest severity
rating.
Trend Micro has issued a fix for the vulnerability which users can
get by updating to the latest virus pattern update. The company
said that it will patch the flaw in its upcoming Scan Engine 8.5
update.