Number: IRCNE2015032441
Date: 2015/03/08
According to “cnet”, computers running all supported releases of Microsoft Windows are vulnerable to "FREAK," a decade-old encryption flaw that leaves device users vulnerable to having their electronic communications intercepted when visiting any of hundreds of thousands of websites, including Whitehouse.gov, NSA.gov and FBI.gov.
The flaw was previously thought to be limited to Apple's Safari and Google's Android browsers. But Microsoft warned that the encryption protocols used in Windows -- Secure Sockets Layer and its successor Transport Layer Security -- were also vulnerable to the flaw.
"Our investigation has verified that the vulnerability could allow an attacker to force the downgrading of the cipher suites used in an SSL/TLS connection on a Windows client system," Microsoft said in its advisory.
Microsoft said it will likely address the flaw in its regularly scheduled Patch Tuesday update or with an out-of-cycle patch. In the meantime, Microsoft suggested disabling the RSA export ciphers.
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