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Microsoft releases new patches to fix Exchange flaws currently used by hackers
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Published onMarch 9, 2021
published onMarch 9, 2021
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Microsoft issued an update to its recent March Cumulative Update for its Exchange Server platform aimed at patching four critical vulnerabilities that have recently become exploits.
Today’s March 9, 2021, update follows a previously issuedemergency patch for its 2013, 2016, and 2019 Exchange Server productsthat have become the recent targets of cyberattacks from a presumed nation-state. Internally, Microsoft is tracking CVE-2021-26855, CVE-2021-26857, CVE 2021-26858, and CVE-202-27065 as the four identifiable flaws within its various Exchange Server platforms for on-premise setups.
Microsoft’s community support forum details the steps admins can use to temporarily patch the vulnerabilities within their systems against the latest cyberattack.
Among the additional crucial bits of protection, the community support blog also hosts information that includes the limitations to Microsoft’s support of affected Exchange Servers. Embedded within Microsoft’s community support blog is the company’s explanation on why it’s currently racing to patch and protect previously unsupported platforms as well as the distinction that these new updates should not infer future support.
These update packages containonlyfixes for March 2021 CVEs (CVE-2021-26855, CVE-2021-26857, CVE-2021-26858, CVE-2021-27065);no other product updates or security fixes are included.Installing these updates doesnotmean an unsupported CU is now supported.
Today’s update comes as an acknowledgment by Microsoft that its on-premise Exchange Server has become the highlighted target of malicious online attacks twice within a year or so. While notthe scale of SolarWinds, the Hafnium cyberattack has been running for some time and is in its own right has the potential to be crippling.
An estimated 18,000 organizations worldwide are potentially affected by the Hafnium cyberattack. The list of vulnerabilities for the affected Exchange servers includes Server-Side Request Forgery for HPPT requests that don’t require authentication, insecure decentralization at the SYSTEM level, and write paths to post-authentication arbitrary file writes.
Back in late February,Microsoft was brought before Congressto answer questions regarding the massive SolarWinds cyberattack, and it stands to reason the company will be questioned about this most recent attack and what steps it’s going to take going forward to mitigate this level and occurrence of cyber-attacks to its older on-premise Exchange Servers.
Kareem Anderson
Networking & Security Specialist
Kareem is a journalist from the bay area, now living in Florida. His passion for technology and content creation drives are unmatched, driving him to create well-researched articles and incredible YouTube videos.
He is always on the lookout for everything new about Microsoft, focusing on making easy-to-understand content and breaking down complex topics related to networking, Azure, cloud computing, and security.
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Kareem Anderson
Networking & Security Specialist
He is a journalist from the bay area, now living in Florida. He breaks down complex topics related to networking, Azure, cloud computing, and security
