Encrypting files, folders, and drives on your computer means that no one else can make sense of the data they contain without a particular decryption key—which in most cases is a password known only to you. 

So while someone could get at your files if they know your password (the decryption key), they won't be able to take out a drive from your system and access what's on it, or use a second computer to read your data—it'll all be gibberish. It means that if your Windows or macOS machine gets lost or stolen, you don't have to worry about someone using the data on it.

How the most popular operating systems have handled encryption has changed over the years, and there are third-party tools that give you more encryption options to choose from. We'll guide you through everything you need to know about these options to help you pick the right one.

Built-in Options for Windows

Device encryption is available in the Home versions of Windows.

Windows via David Nield

Encryption on Windows is a little more complicated than perhaps it should be. First of all, there are differences between the Windows Home and Windows Pro editions: Pro users get a powerful tool called BitLocker for encryption, but with the Home edition, there's a more basic alternative. It's simply referred to as device encryption, and you can find it by choosing **Privacy & security** and then **Device encryption** from the Settings panel in Windows.

Not so fast though, as this option won't appear for everyone: It requires a certain level of hardware security support from your desktop or laptop computer. It's all rather complex, and we don't have room to go into everything in detail here, but The Windows Club has an excellent explainer. If you search the Start menu for a tool called "system information," then right-click and run it as an administrator, you can see why your computer does or doesn't support this feature via the Device Encryption Support entry.

Assuming your hardware does meet all of the requirements, and the **Device encryption** entry is visible, you can click through it to see if your system drives are encrypted—they should be, by default, if you log in to your computer with a Microsoft account. It means that anyone who accesses your hard drives without that authorization won't be able to see the data on them, because it'll be encrypted and protected. If encryption isn't enabled for whatever reason, you can turn the toggle switch to **On**.

When it comes to external drives and USB sticks, if you have the Pro version of Windows you can use BitLocker: Just right-click on the drive in File Explorer, pick **Show more options** and **Turn on BitLocker**, and set a password. For those on the Home edition though, this option isn't available—you're going to have to use a third-party tool for the job of encrypting external drives, and we'll get on to those later on in this article.

Built-in Options for macOS

Use FileVault for maximum protection on a Mac.

Apple via David Nield

Encryption on macOS isn't quite as confusing as it is on Windows, but it still needs some explaining. If you have a Mac with a T2 security chip or Apple silicon inside (so one from late 2017 or later), then the contents of your system disk are encrypted by default. Your account password is required to get into the computer and at all of the data secured on the drive.

However, without getting into too much technical detail (which you can access here if you want to dive deeper), you can add an extra layer of encryption protection by enabling a tool called FileVault. Enabling FileVault means the information required to decrypt your Mac drive is harder to get at—if, for example, someone steals your computer and connects a second computer to it. Traditionally, this could impact speed and performance, but in recent years that's become less and less of a problem and is practically unnoticeable on the newest Macs.

You'll be asked to enable FileVault when you first set up macOS on a new machine, and it's something we'd recommend. You can also turn FileVault on (or off) whenever you like by opening the **Apple** menu and choosing **System Settings** then **Privacy & Security**. There's a FileVault option there, together with some details about what it does. You'll also need to specify your preferred way of unlocking the system disk if you ever forget your password, either through iCloud or through a dedicated recovery key.

You can encrypt external drives with a password from Finder: Just right-click on them and choose **Encrypt**. If the encryption option doesn't appear, the drive needs to be wiped and reformatted to be compatible—open the Disk Utility tool in macOS, click **View** and **Show All Devices**, then select the relevant external drive and click **Erase**. Give the drive a name, choose an encrypted option under **Format** (the options are explained here) and choose **GUID Partition Map** under **Scheme**. Pick your password, then click **Erase**, and the drive is ready to go.

Third-party Options for Windows and macOS

VeraCrypt makes it simple to encrypt an external drive.

VeraCrypt via David Nield

There are a variety of free and paid third-party encryption tools available if the options built into Windows and macOS don't suit your needs, including Cryptomator, NordLocker, and AxCrypt. However, we recommend one in particular, VeraCrypt: It's available for Windows and macOS (and indeed Linux,) it's not difficult to use, and it's free.

We also recommend reading through the online documentation that accompanies the program, but getting started is quite straightforward. Say you're encrypting an external drive, for example: With the drive plugged in and formatted, open VeraCrypt and choose **Create Volume**. Next, select **Encrypt a non-system partition/drive** and select **Next**. Select the drive you want to encrypt and follow the instructions on the screen.

During the configuration process, you'll be asked whether you want to encrypt the existing data already on the drive, or format it ready for files to be added—if you already have files on the drive that you don't want to be wiped, make sure you pick the former option. You'll also be asked to specify a password to lock the drive, which you should make sure you won't forget (you won't be able to access the drive without it).

VeraCrypt also lets you create containers, or sections of a drive that are encrypted. If you need to lock up specific files and folders without encrypting an entire disk for whatever reason, then this is one of the ways of going about it. From the main VeraCrypt screen, click **Create Volume**, then **Create an encrypted file container**. You'll be asked to specify a file on disk that then acts as the encrypted container for other files and folders.

How to Encrypt any File, Folder, or Drive on Your System

Today, Talos is publishing a glimpse into the most prevalent threats we've observed between Jan. 13 and Jan. 20. As with previous roundups, this post isn't meant to be an in-depth analysis. Instead, this post will summarize the threats we've observed by highlighting key

Threat Round up for January 13 to January 20

CRYSTALS-DILITHIUM (in Post-Quantum Cryptography Selected Algorithms 2022) in PQClean d03da30 may allow universal forgeries of digital signatures via a template side-channel attack because of intermediate data leakage of one vector.

**PQClean**

_See the build status for each component here_

**PQClean**, in short, is an effort to collect **clean** implementations of the post-quantum schemes that are in the NIST post-quantum project. The goal of PQClean is to provide _standalone implementations_ that

*   can easily be integrated into libraries such as liboqs.
*   can efficiently upstream into higher-level protocol integration efforts such as Open Quantum Safe;
*   can easily be integrated into benchmarking frameworks such as SUPERCOP;
*   can easily be integrated into frameworks targeting embedded platforms such as pqm4;
*   are suitable starting points for architecture-specific optimized implementations;
*   are suitable starting points for evaluation of implementation security; and
*   are suitable targets for formal verification.

What PQClean is **not** aiming for is

*   a build system producing an integrated library of all schemes;
*   including benchmarking of implementations; and
*   including integration into higher-level applications or protocols.

As a first main target, we are collecting C implementations that fulfill the requirements listed below. We also accept optimised implementations, but still requiring high-quality, tested code.

Please also review our guidelines for contributors if you are interested in adding a scheme to PQClean.

**Requirements on C implementations that are automatically checked**

_The checking of items on this list is still being developed. Checked items should be working._

*   Code is valid C99
*   Passes functional tests
*   API functions do not write outside provided buffers
*   api.h cannot include external files
*   Compiles with -Wall -Wextra -Wpedantic -Werror -Wmissing-prototypes with gcc and clang
*   #if/#ifdefs only for header encapsulation
*   Consistent test vectors across runs
*   Consistent test vectors on big-endian and little-endian machines
*   Consistent test vectors on 32-bit and 64-bit machines
*   const arguments are labeled as const
*   No errors/warnings reported by valgrind
*   No errors/warnings reported by address sanitizer
*   Only dependencies: fips202.c, sha2.c, aes.c, randombytes.c
*   API functions return 0 on success
*   No dynamic memory allocations (including variable-length arrays)
*   No branching on secret data (dynamically checked using valgrind)
*   No access to secret memory locations (dynamically checked using valgrind)
*   Separate subdirectories (without symlinks) for each parameter set of each scheme
*   Builds under Linux, MacOS, and Windows
    *   Linux
    *   MacOS
    *   Windows
*   Makefile-based build for each separate scheme
*   Makefile-based build for Windows (nmake)
*   All exported symbols are namespaced with PQCLEAN_SCHEMENAME_
*   Each implementation comes with a LICENSE file (see below)
*   Each scheme comes with a META.yml file giving details about version of the algorithm, designers
    *   Each individual implementation is specified in META.yml.

**Requirements on C implementations that are manually checked**

*   Minimalist Makefiles
*   No stringification macros
*   Output-parameter pointers in functions are on the left
*   All exported symbols are namespaced in place
*   Integer types are of fixed size where relevant, using stdint.h types (optional, recommended)
*   Integers used for indexing memory are of size size_t (optional, recommended)
*   Variable declarations at the beginning (except in for (size_t i=...) (optional, recommended)

**Schemes currently in PQClean**

For the following schemes we have implementations of one or more of their parameter sets. For all of these schemes we have clean C code, but for some we also have optimised code.

**Key Encapsulation Mechanisms**

**Finalists:**

*   Kyber

**Alternate candidates:**

*   HQC
*   Classic McEliece

**Signature schemes**

**To-be standards:**

*   Dilithium
*   Falcon
*   SPHINCS+

**Alternate candidates:**

*   No participants yet.

Implementations previously available in PQClean and dropped in Round 3 of the NIST standardization effort are available in the round2 tag.

Implementations previously available in PQClean and dropped in Round 4 of the NIST standardization effort are available in the round3 tag.

**API used by PQClean**

PQClean is essentially using the same API as required for the NIST reference implementations, which is also used by SUPERCOP and by libpqcrypto. The only differences to that API are the following:

*   All functions are namespaced;
*   All lengths are passed as type size_t instead of unsigned long long; and
*   Signatures offer two additional functions that follow the "traditional" approach used in most software stacks of computing and verifying signatures instead of producing and recovering signed messages. Specifically, those functions have the following name and signature:

int PQCLEAN\_SCHEME\_IMPL\_crypto\_sign\_signature(
    uint8\_t \*sig, size\_t \*siglen,
    const uint8\_t \*m, size\_t mlen,
    const uint8\_t \*sk);
int PQCLEAN\_SCHEME\_IMPL\_crypto\_sign\_verify(
    const uint8\_t \*sig, size\_t siglen,
    const uint8\_t \*m, size\_t mlen,
    const uint8\_t \*pk);

**Building PQClean**

As noted above, PQClean is **not** meant to be built as a single library: it is a collection of source code that can be easily integrated into other libraries. The PQClean repository includes various test programs which do build various files, but you should not use the resulting binaries.

List of required dependencies: gcc or clang, make, python3, python-yaml library, valgrind, astyle (>= 3.0).

**Using source code from PQClean in your own project**

Each implementation directory in PQClean (e.g., crypto\_kem/kyber768\\clean) can be extracted for use in your own project. You will need to:

1.  Copy the source code from the implementation's directory into your project.
2.  Add the files to your project's build system.
3.  Provide instantiations of any of the common cryptographic algorithms used by the implementation. This likely includes common/randombytes.h (a cryptographic random number generator), and possibly common/sha2.h (the SHA-2 hash function family), common/aes.h (AES implementations), common/fips202.h (the SHA-3 hash function family) and common/sp800-185.h (the cSHAKE family).

Regarding #2, adding the files to your project's build system, each implementation in PQClean is accompanied by example two makefiles that show how one could build the files for that implementation:

*   The file Makefile which can be used with GNU Make, BSD Make, and possibly others.
*   The file Makefile.Microsoft_nmake which can be used with Visual Studio's nmake.

**Projects integrating PQClean-distributed source code**

The following projects consume implementations from PQClean and provide their own wrappers around the implementations. Their integration strategies may serve as examples for your own projects.

*   **pqcrypto crate**: Rust integration that automatically generates wrappers from PQClean source code.
*   **mupq**: Runs the implementations from PQClean as reference implementations to compare with microcontroller-optimized code.
*   **Open Quantum Safe**: The Open Quantum Safe project integrates implementations from PQClean into their liboqs C library, which then exposes them via C++, C# / .NET, and Python wrappers, as well as to forks of OpenSSL and OpenSSH.

**License**

Each subdirectory containing implementations contains a LICENSE file stating under what license that specific implementation is released. The files in common contain licensing information at the top of the file (and are currently either public domain or MIT). All other code in this repository is released under the conditions of CC0.

**Running tests locally**

See https://github.com/PQClean/PQClean/wiki/Test-framework for details about the PQClean test framework.

While we run extensive automatic testing on Github Actions ((emulated) Linux builds, MacOS and Windows builds) and Travis CI (Aarch64 builds), and most tests can also be run locally. To do this, make sure the following is installed:

*   Python 3.6+
*   pytest for python 3.

We also recommend installing pytest-xdist to allow running tests in parallel.

You will also need to make sure the submodules are initialized by running:

    git submodule update --init
    

Run the Python-based tests by going into the test directory and running pytest -v or (recommended) pytest -n=auto for parallel testing.

You may also run python3 <testmodule> where <testmodule> is any of the files starting with test_ in the test/ folder.

CVE-2023-24025: GitHub - PQClean/PQClean at d03da3053491e767ef842deaef43fc5bdb6bc911

In DPA 2022.4 and older releases, generated heap memory dumps contain sensitive information in cleartext.

Release date: January 18, 2023

These release notes describe the new features, improvements, and fixed issues in Database Performance Analyzer 2023.1. They also provide information about upgrades and describe workarounds for known issues.

**Learn more**

*   For information on the latest hotfixes, see DPA hotfixes.
*   For release notes for previous DPA versions, see Previous Version documentation.
*   For information about requirements, see DPA system requirements.
*   For information about working with DPA, see the DPA Administrator Guide.

**New features and improvements in DPA**

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DPA 2023.1 offers new features and improvements compared to previous releases of DPA.

**Improvements to importing alerts, rules, and custom properties**

DPA 2022.4 introduced the ability to export the alerts, rules, and custom properties that are configured on one DPA server and import them to another server. DPA 2023.1 improves the import functionality in the following ways:

*   You can specify which entities to import. The import wizard displays a list of the alerts, rules, and custom properties to be imported. Clear the checkbox next to any entity you don't want to import.
    
*   You can choose to overwrite existing entities with the same name. If you overwrite an entity, the existing entity is replaced by the imported entity.
    

**Additions to systems requirements and monitored instances**

 

Category

Vender and version

Repository database

Microsoft SQL Server 2022, Windows or Linux

Monitored database instances

Microsoft SQL Server 2022, Windows or Linux

VMware

VMware vCenter Server 7.0

VMware ESX/ESXi Host 7.0

For more information, see the DPA 2023.1 system requirements and Database instances DPA can monitor.

**Fixed issues in DPA 2023.1**

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DPA 2023.1 fixes the following issues.

 

Case number

Description

01144021, 01233510, 01234275

In deployments with an Oracle repository that monitor Oracle database instances, index analysis runs successfully. Logs no longer include the error message Unable to run index analysis.

01080326, 01129290, 01234534, 01236488

Files in the /tomcat/logs/ directory, such as catalina.out, stderr.log, and catalina._YYYY-MM-DD_.log, no longer grow quickly and consume a large amount of space.

00978208, 01076887

Collecting a large number of metrics (for example, because you have configured many custom metrics), can sometimes cause DPA monitoring to stop periodically. DPA 2023.1 includes metrics setting in the system.properties files that can be adjusted to avoid this issue. For information on adjusting these properties, see Scale DPA for the number of databases being monitored and the number of custom metrics.

00560405, 00850966, 01061361, 01128672

In previous versions, when DPA was installed on Windows the installer ran a VBS script to create the Windows service. If an organization had a security policy that prevented VBS scripts from running, the service was not created and DPA would not start. To prevent this issue, DPA 2023.1 runs a Powershell script instead of a VBS script.

**SolarWinds CVEs**

SolarWinds would like to thank our Security Researchers below for reporting on the issue in a responsible manner and working with our security, product, and engineering teams to fix the vulnerability.

   

CVE-ID

Vulnerability Title

Description

Severity

CVE-2022-38110

Reflected Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability

In DPA 2022.4 and older releases, certain URL vectors are susceptible to authenticated reflected cross-site scripting.

6.3 Medium

CVE-2022-38112

Sensitive Information Disclosure Vulnerability

In DPA 2022.4 and older releases, generated heap memory dumps contain sensitive information in cleartext.

6.3 Medium

**Notes - BugCrowd**

SolarWinds would like to additionally thank our Bugcrowd community for their continued help in testing our products and keeping them secure

**New customer installation**

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For information about installing DPA, see the DPA Installation and Upgrade Guide. You can download a free trial from the SolarWinds website.

**Before you upgrade!**

If you are upgrading from DPA 2022.3 and you configured that version for SAML authentication, be aware that 2022.4 and later versions include changes to the SAML configuration. After the upgrade, no one will be able to log in with SAML until you update the configuration.

*   **Before** you upgrade, make sure you have a local login available.
    
*   **After** the upgrade, log in as a local user and complete the steps under SAML configuration changes in the DPA 2022.3 release notes to update the SAML configuration.
    

**How to upgrade**

If you are upgrading from an earlier version, use the following resources to plan and implement your upgrade:

*   Use the DPA Installation and Upgrade Guide to help you plan and execute your upgrade.
*   When you are ready, download the upgrade package from the SolarWinds Customer Portal.

**Known issues**

Return to top

 

Importing an alert definition without the associated database assignment rule

**Issue**

In some situations, the log file shows the status of an imported alert definition as both Imported and Failed. This occurs when the alert definition uses a database assignment rule, but the rule was not imported and did not already exist on the server.

The two statuses indicate that the alert definition was imported but the attempt to associate the database assignment rule failed.

**Resolution or Workaround**

When you import an alert definition that uses a database assignment rule, either import the rule or ensure that it already exists on the server.

If you imported an alert definition and the associated rule is missing, you must edit the alert definition to specify the database instances. (You can specify instances by manually selecting them or by applying a rule.)

 

REST API does not work when you access DPA with SAML login credentials

**Issue**

If you access DPA with SAML login credentials and you generate a refresh token, the following message is displayed when you attempt to use that refresh token to access the REST API:

You are not authorized to perform this action. Contact your DPA administrator.

**Resolution or Workaround**

Access DPA with a local login when you generate the refresh token.

 

The database name is not updated for stored procedures

**Issue**

If a stored procedure name includes the name of a database and it is copied to a different database, the database name is not updated. When DPA shows information about the copied stored procedure, the hash is the same as the first and the information appears to be incorrect.

**Resolution or Workaround**

If you experience this issue, complete the following steps:

1.  Run the following command against the DPA repository database (replacing <HashValue> with the stored procedure's hash value):
    
    delete from ignite.CONST_<DBID> where H = '<HashValue>'
    
2.  Restart DPA.

 

Registering an Azure SQL database instance fails when the privileged user is an Azure AD user

**Issue**

When registering an Azure SQL database, if you let DPA create the monitoring user and select an Azure Active Directory (AD) user as the privileged user, registration fails on the last step with the message Connection test to database as monitoring user failed.

**Resolution or Workaround**

Select the option 'I'll create the contained user or login', and follow the instructions to create the monitoring user manually.

 

Adding a distributed AG to a server prevents DPA from monitoring non-distributed AGs on the server

**Issue**

If DPA is monitoring non-distributed SQL Server Availability Groups (AGs) on a server and you add a distributed AG to the server, DPA stops monitoring the non-distributed AGs.

**Resolution or Workaround**

Do not add a distributed AG to the server.

 

Microsoft reports incorrect metric values for SQL Server on Linux

**Issue**

When you monitor a **SQL Server 2017** database instance that runs on a Linux server:

*   The O/S CPU Utilization resource always shows usage at 100%.
*   The Instance CPU Utilization resource always shows usage at 100%.
*   The O/S Memory Utilization resource always shows usage at 0%.

When you monitor a **SQL Server 2019** database instance that runs on a Linux server:

*   The O/S CPU Utilization resource always shows usage at 100%.
*   In some cases, the Instance CPU Utilization resource always shows usage at 100%.

Microsoft reports these values.

**Resolution or Workaround**

Disregard the values that are incorrect on your version of SQL Server. You can also disable the collection of a metric that shows incorrect data.

 

DPA fails to reconnect after losing its connection to a SQL Server instance

**Issue**

When DPA loses its connection to a monitored SQL Server instance (for example, when the DPA server is rebooted), and Windows authentication is used, DPA is sometimes unable to reconnect to the instance. This can happen if DPA attempts to connect before SQL Server has been able to connect to Active Directory. DPA interprets the rejected connection attempt as possibly occuring because the credentials were incorrect. To avoid being locked out of the account, DPA does not keep trying to reconnect. Messages such as the following appear in the logs:

Monitor for database [databaseName] failed to start due to [username and/or password must be updated due to previous login failure; if the credentials have not changed for this database, stop the monitor, wait for the monitor to stop, then start the monitor.].

**Resolution or Workaround**

When the monitored instance is fully initialized, manually restart monitoring. On the DPA home page, click the Action drop-down menu for the instance and select Start Monitor.

**End of life**

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Version

EoL Announcement

EoE Effective Date

EoL Effective Date

DPA 2022.1

**January18, 2022** End-of-Life (EoL) announcement - Customers on DPA version 2022.1 or earlier should begin transitioning to the latest version of DPA.

**April18, 2023** End-of-Engineering (EoE) - Service releases, bug fixes, workarounds, and service packs for DPA version2022.1 or earlier will no longer actively be supported by SolarWinds.

**April18, 2024** End-of-Life (EoL) - SolarWinds will no longer provide technical support for DPA version 2022.1 or earlier.

DPA 2021.3

**October 18, 2022** End-of-Life (EoL) announcement - Customers on DPA version 2021.3 or earlier should begin transitioning to the latest version of DPA.

**January 18, 2023** End-of-Engineering (EoE) - Service releases, bug fixes, workarounds, and service packs for DPA version 2021.3 or earlier will no longer actively be supported by SolarWinds.

**January 18, 2024** End-of-Life (EoL) - SolarWinds will no longer provide technical support for DPA version 2021.3 or earlier.

DPA 2021.1

**October 18, 2022** End-of-Life (EoL) announcement - Customers on DPA version 2021.1 or earlier should begin transitioning to the latest version of DPA.

**January 18, 2023** End-of-Engineering (EoE) - Service releases, bug fixes, workarounds, and service packs for DPA version 2021.1 or earlier will no longer actively be supported by SolarWinds.

**January 18, 2024** End-of-Life (EoL) - SolarWinds will no longer provide technical support for DPA version 2021.1 or earlier.

DPA 2020.2

**October 18, 2022** End-of-Life (EoL) announcement - Customers on DPA version 2020.2 or earlier should begin transitioning to the latest version of DPA.

**January 18, 2023** End-of-Engineering (EoE) - Service releases, bug fixes, workarounds, and service packs for DPA version 2020.2 or earlier will no longer actively be supported by SolarWinds.

**January 18, 2024** End-of-Life (EoL) - SolarWinds will no longer provide technical support for DPA version 2020.2 or earlier.

**Deprecation notices**

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This version of Database Performance Analyzer deprecates the following platforms and features.

Deprecated platforms and features are still supported in the current release. However, they will be unsupported in a future release. Plan on upgrading deprecated platforms, and avoid using deprecated features. 

 

Type

Details

DPA server OS

Installing DPA on a server with a **Windows Server 2012 R2** operating system is still supported in 2022.4, but support will be removed in an upcoming release.

_The scripts are not supported under any SolarWinds support program or service. The scripts are provided AS IS without warranty of any kind. SolarWinds further disclaims all warranties including, without limitation, any implied warranties of merchantability or of fitness for a particular purpose. The risk arising out of the use or performance of the scripts and documentation stays with you. In no event shall SolarWinds or anyone else involved in the creation, production, or delivery of the scripts be liable for any damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, damages for loss of business profits, business interruption, loss of business information, or other pecuniary loss) arising out of the use of or inability to use the scripts or documentation_.

**Legal notices**

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© 2023 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved.

This document may not be reproduced by any means nor modified, decompiled, disassembled, published or distributed, in whole or in part, or translated to any electronic medium or other means without the prior written consent of SolarWinds. All right, title, and interest in and to the software, services, and documentation are and shall remain the exclusive property of SolarWinds, its affiliates, and/or its respective licensors.

SOLARWINDS DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, CONDITIONS, OR OTHER TERMS, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE, ON THE DOCUMENTATION, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION NONINFRINGEMENT, ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR USEFULNESS OF ANY INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN. IN NO EVENT SHALL SOLARWINDS, ITS SUPPLIERS, NOR ITS LICENSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, WHETHER ARISING IN TORT, CONTRACT OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, EVEN IF SOLARWINDS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

The SolarWinds, SolarWinds & Design, Orion, and THWACK trademarks are the exclusive property of SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC or its affiliates, are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and may be registered or pending registration in other countries. All other SolarWinds trademarks, service marks, and logos may be common law marks or are registered or pending registration. All other trademarks mentioned herein are used for identification purposes only and are trademarks of (and may be registered trademarks) of their respective companies.

CVE-2022-38112: DPA 2023.1 Release Notes

By Owais Sultan
This article will highlight some of the most significant Microsoft innovations that could make an impact in 2023 and beyond.
This is a post from HackRead.com Read the original post: Microsoft Innovations for 2023: What to Look Out for This Year

Over the past several decades, **Microsoft** has continually been a leader in computer and technological innovations. As we enter into 2023, Microsoft continues to innovate by introducing new products and services that are reshaping our lives. This article will highlight some of the most significant Microsoft innovations that could make an impact in 2023 and beyond.

**Windows 11 Updates**

Microsoft Windows 11 is the latest operating system available for PCs. With **Windows 11 version** 22H2 Microsoft has launched a new system called “Moments.” The purpose is to provide continuous innovations to Windows users.

So, instead of waiting for annual updates to the Windows system, users can experience new features every few months. The next Windows update, which is **Moments 2**, is expected to be released in February and March of 2023.

If you’re a Windows 11 user, you can expect new features like:

*   Table mode taskbar
*   System tray updates
*   More search bar options
*   Full-screen widgets panel
*   Voice access enhancements

Alongside a major user interface redesign, one other big update found inside Windows 11 is Cortana – Microsoft’s voice-activated digital assistant originally designed for mobile phones.

Users can use Cortana to quickly locate files stored or their **email client** anywhere on their machines, as well as ask questions about anything related to information found online.

Furthermore, Microsoft is planning a Moment 3 release during late spring or early summer. However, it’s too early to say what the innovations will include for this launch. On the other hand, there are rumours that the brand is considering significant improvements for laptops. There may also be some improvements to apps and the launch of the **Outlook web app**. 

One of the key advantages of upgrading to Windows 11 is its improved performance over earlier versions of the OS. This includes faster boot times, quicker app loading times, and better overall responsiveness from your PC or laptop when switching between tasks and running multiple programs simultaneously.

**Microsoft Teams for Education**

**Microsoft Teams** for Education is a digital social hub that brings apps, conversations, and content together on a streamlined platform. With this platform, educators can create collaborative classrooms and even communicate with school staff.

2023 has kicked off to a good start for the platform as Microsoft has introduced new features to make it easier for educators to organize their work.

**Jupyter Notebook Integration**

The first notable integration is that Python script files and **Python Jupyter Notebooks** can now be rendered in Teams Assignments.

Students and teachers can now distribute, edit and execute Python code on the platform. This means users don’t have to set up a separate coding environment. Help or feedback can be given under Python Notebooks to assist team members.

**Team Meetings**

Microsoft Teams has made it easier for the deaf community to communicate with team members. In Meetings, there is now a **Sign Language View option**. Hosts are able to prioritize two other videos, so they are always visible during the meeting.

When Sign Language View is activated, the video streams automatically on the right-hand side of the viewer’s screen. Sign Language View is personal to you, so it won’t affect what other team members see in the meeting.

**Quizzes or Polls**

Some teachers use quizzes or questionnaires to test their student’s knowledge of the work they’ve learned. Educators can now expand these check-ins by creating multiple questions under one poll.

Additionally, teachers can add images to polls to help students process questions. Students can select these images to enlarge them in a new browser for better visibility.

**Parent Meetings**

Some parents can’t travel to meet teachers regularly. So to save time, there is a parent meetings scheduler that allows for improved communication between educators and parents. Educators can create individual profiles for each student’s parent or guardian. The teacher can then schedule meetings at times that are convenient for all parties involved.

**Microsoft Forms**

Microsoft has made several improvements to Forms. Most notably, there is a change in cover page designs and more ways to distribute your forms. So if you want to design a survey or a registration form, you now have more options to design your cover pages.

With regards to form distributions, you can now send your forms through multiple channels **like Facebook**, Twitter, Teams, or through QR codes.

Users can also add images as an answer in **Microsoft Forms**. This feature is available to all Business and Education accounts. You can also create multi-question polls to collect valuable data from your audience. Create multiple polls and then schedule them at different times during your meetings.

**Final Thoughts**

Microsoft is constantly creating new and innovative ways to improve technology for users. This makes it easier for people to run businesses or collaborate on large projects. It’s going to be an exciting year for Microsoft users, especially for those who use Teams regularly.

Those who use Windows 11 operating systems can expect regular updates and added features throughout the year. These updates can improve device performance and boost productivity. Keep an eye out for more Microsoft innovations to come in 2023.

1.  Will Microsoft add Android support to Windows 10?
2.  Microsoft patent reveals chatbot to talk to dead people
3.  Microsoft Windows PCs protection with Pluton security chip

Owais takes care of Hackread's social media from the very first day. At the same time He is pursuing for chartered accountancy and doing part time freelance writing.

Microsoft Innovations for 2023: What to Look Out for This Year

Ubuntu Security Notice 5814-1 - Kyle Zeng discovered that the sysctl implementation in the Linux kernel contained a stack-based buffer overflow. A local attacker could use this to cause a denial of service or execute arbitrary code. Tamás Koczka discovered that the Bluetooth L2CAP handshake implementation in the Linux kernel contained multiple use-after-free vulnerabilities. A physically proximate attacker could use this to cause a denial of service or possibly execute arbitrary code.

==========================================================================  
Ubuntu Security Notice USN-5814-1  
January 19, 2023

linux-azure, linux-gkeop, linux-intel-iotg, linux-lowlatency,  
linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.15, linux-oracle-5.15 vulnerabilities  
==========================================================================

A security issue affects these releases of Ubuntu and its derivatives:

- Ubuntu 22.10  
- Ubuntu 22.04 LTS  
- Ubuntu 20.04 LTS

Summary:

Several security issues were fixed in the Linux kernel.

Software Description:  
- linux-azure: Linux kernel for Microsoft Azure Cloud systems  
- linux-lowlatency: Linux low latency kernel  
- linux-gkeop: Linux kernel for Google Container Engine (GKE) systems  
- linux-intel-iotg: Linux kernel for Intel IoT platforms  
- linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.15: Linux low latency kernel  
- linux-oracle-5.15: Linux kernel for Oracle Cloud systems

Details:

Kyle Zeng discovered that the sysctl implementation in the Linux kernel  
contained a stack-based buffer overflow. A local attacker could use this to  
cause a denial of service (system crash) or execute arbitrary code.  
(CVE-2022-4378)

Tamás Koczka discovered that the Bluetooth L2CAP handshake implementation  
in the Linux kernel contained multiple use-after-free vulnerabilities. A  
physically proximate attacker could use this to cause a denial of service  
(system crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code. (CVE-2022-42896)

It was discovered that the Xen netback driver in the Linux kernel did not  
properly handle packets structured in certain ways. An attacker in a guest  
VM could possibly use this to cause a denial of service (host NIC  
availability). (CVE-2022-3643)

It was discovered that an integer overflow vulnerability existed in the  
Bluetooth subsystem in the Linux kernel. A physically proximate attacker  
could use this to cause a denial of service (system crash).  
(CVE-2022-45934)

Update instructions:

The problem can be corrected by updating your system to the following  
package versions:

Ubuntu 22.10:  
   linux-image-5.19.0-1015-lowlatency  5.19.0-1015.16  
   linux-image-5.19.0-1015-lowlatency-64k  5.19.0-1015.16  
   linux-image-5.19.0-1017-azure   5.19.0-1017.18  
   linux-image-azure               5.19.0.1017.13  
   linux-image-lowlatency          5.19.0.1015.12  
   linux-image-lowlatency-64k      5.19.0.1015.12

Ubuntu 22.04 LTS:  
   linux-image-5.15.0-1013-gkeop   5.15.0-1013.17  
   linux-image-5.15.0-1023-intel-iotg  5.15.0-1023.28  
   linux-image-5.15.0-58-lowlatency  5.15.0-58.64  
   linux-image-5.15.0-58-lowlatency-64k  5.15.0-58.64  
   linux-image-gkeop               5.15.0.1013.12  
   linux-image-gkeop-5.15          5.15.0.1013.12  
   linux-image-intel-iotg          5.15.0.1023.22  
   linux-image-lowlatency          5.15.0.58.51  
   linux-image-lowlatency-64k      5.15.0.58.51  
   linux-image-lowlatency-64k-hwe-22.04  5.15.0.58.51  
   linux-image-lowlatency-hwe-22.04  5.15.0.58.51

Ubuntu 20.04 LTS:  
   linux-image-5.15.0-1027-oracle  5.15.0-1027.33~20.04.1  
   linux-image-5.15.0-58-lowlatency  5.15.0-58.64~20.04.1  
   linux-image-5.15.0-58-lowlatency-64k  5.15.0-58.64~20.04.1  
   linux-image-lowlatency-64k-hwe-20.04  5.15.0.58.64~20.04.21  
   linux-image-lowlatency-hwe-20.04  5.15.0.58.64~20.04.21  
   linux-image-oracle              5.15.0.1027.33~20.04.1

After a standard system update you need to reboot your computer to make  
all the necessary changes.

ATTENTION: Due to an unavoidable ABI change the kernel updates have  
been given a new version number, which requires you to recompile and  
reinstall all third party kernel modules you might have installed.  
Unless you manually uninstalled the standard kernel metapackages  
(e.g. linux-generic, linux-generic-lts-RELEASE, linux-virtual,  
linux-powerpc), a standard system upgrade will automatically perform  
this as well.

References:  
   https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-5814-1  
   CVE-2022-3643, CVE-2022-42896, CVE-2022-4378, CVE-2022-45934

Package Information:  
   https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux-azure/5.19.0-1017.18  
   https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux-lowlatency/5.19.0-1015.16  
   https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux-gkeop/5.15.0-1013.17  
   https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux-intel-iotg/5.15.0-1023.28  
   https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux-lowlatency/5.15.0-58.64

 https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.15/5.15.0-58.64~20.04.1

 https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux-oracle-5.15/5.15.0-1027.33~20.04.1

Ubuntu Security Notice USN-5814-1

OpenText Extended ECM versions 16.2.2 through 22.3 suffer from arbitrary file deletion, information disclosure, local file inclusion, and privilege escalation vulnerabilities.

OpenText Extended ECM 22.3 File Deletion / LFI / Privilege Escsalation

OpenText Extended ECM versions 20.4 through 22.3 suffer from a pre-authentication remote code execution vulnerability in the Java frontend.

SEC Consult Vulnerability Lab Security Advisory < 20230117-1 >=======================================================================               title: Pre-authenticated Remote Code Execution via Java frontend                      and QDS endpoint             product: OpenText™ Content Server component of OpenText™ Extended ECM  vulnerable version: 20.4 - 22.3       fixed version: 22.4          CVE number: CVE-2022-45927              impact: Critical            homepage: https://www.opentext.com               found: 2022-09-16                  by: Armin Stock (Atos)                      SEC Consult Vulnerability Lab                      An integrated part of SEC Consult, an Atos company                      Europe | Asia | North America                      https://www.sec-consult.com=======================================================================Vendor description:-------------------"OpenText™ Extended ECM is an enterprise CMS platform that securely governs theinformation lifecycle by integrating with leading enterprise applications, suchas SAP®, Microsoft® 365, Salesforce and SAP SuccessFactors®. Bringing contentand processes together, Extended ECM provides access to information when andwhere it’s needed, improves decision-making and drives operational effectiveness."Source: https://www.opentext.com/products/extended-ecmBusiness recommendation:------------------------The vendor provides a patch which should be installed immediately.Vulnerability overview/description:-----------------------------------1) Pre-authenticated Remote Code Execution via Java frontend and QDS endpoint (CVE-2022-45927)The `QDS` endpoints of the `Content Server` are not protected by the normaluser management functionality of the `Content Server`, but check the value ofthe key `_REQUEST` of the incoming data. Normally this parameter is set by theHTTP frontend (e.g. the `CGI` binary `cs.exe` or `Java` application servlet) to`llweb`.There is a bug in the `Java` application server, found in`%OT_BASE%/application/cs.war`, which allows an attacker to actually set thevalue of the key `_REQUEST` to an arbitrary value and bypass the authorizationchecks.Most of the endpoints cannot be called, because they require specific data typesof the incoming data, which can not be controlled by the attacker. Only stringsare supported. But a few endpoints can be called which allow an attacker to createfiles or execute arbitrary code on the server.Proof of concept:-----------------1) Pre-authenticated Remote Code Execution via Java frontend and QDS endpoint (CVE-2022-45927)To be able to set the value of the `_REQUEST` parameter the attacker has tosend the data via a `POST` request with a `Content-Type` of `multipart/form-data`.This results in the following execution flow:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------[ Details removed, will be published at a later date ]-------------------------------------------------------------------------------The following request (using the `CGI` frontend) results in an unauthorizedresponse:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------[ PoC removed, will be published at a later date ]--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<div class="cs-form-container cs-form-message-container">   <div>     <div class="cs-form-line-text cs-form-message cs-form-message-error" title="Error" id="errMsg" >       <p>         Content Server Error:       </p>       <p>         The request did not come from XXX.       </p>     </div>   </div></div>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Whereas using the `Java` application server results in the following response:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------HTTP/1.1 200A<1,?,'ErrMsg'=?,'ErrMsgDetail'=?,'OK'=true,'QDSServerList'={}>Content-Type: text/html;charset=UTF-8Cache-Control: no-cacheX-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGINContent-Security-Policy: frame-ancestors 'self'X-UA-Compatible: IE=edgeContent-Length: 0Date: Tue, 27 Sep 2022 13:04:47 GMTConnection: close-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Create new objects:Using this bug it is possible to create objects in the `Content Server` withoutknown credentials and in the context of the super-admin user ( ID `1000` ), bycalling the endpoint `[ Details removed, will be published at a later date ]`.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------[ PoC removed, will be published at a later date ]-------------------------------------------------------------------------------The new object (subType = `145` text file) is created without providing cookiesand the `owner` attribute of this object is set to `1000` (super admin):-------------------------------------------------------------------------------HTTP/1.1 200A<1,?,'CATEGORY'=?,'CloneTime'=D/2022/9/28: 8:10:5,'COMMENT'='created','ContentType'=?,'CREATEDATE'=D/2022/9/28:8:10:5,'CREATEDBY'=1000,'DataID'=51982,'DATELASTMODIFY'=D/2022/9/28:8:10:5,'EXATT1'=?,'EXATT2'=?,'EXTENDEDDATA'=?,'GROUPPERM'=128,'location'=E648871951,'MAJOR'=?,'MAXVERSION'=-1,'MINOR'=?,'Name'='qds-create-poc.txt','nextURL'=E648871951,'Node'=A<1,?,'AssignedTo'=?,'CacheExpiration'=0,'Catalog'=0,'ChildCount'=0,'CreateDate'=D/2022/9/28:8:10:5,'CreatedBy'=1000,'DataID'=51982,'DataType'=?,'DateAssigned'=?,'DateCompleted'=?,'DateDue'=?,'DateEffective'=?,'DateExpiration'=?,'DateStarted'=?,'DCategory'=?,'DComment'='created','Deleted'=0,'ExAtt1'=?,'ExAtt2'=?,'ExtendedData'=?,'ExternalCreateDate'=?,'ExternalCreatorID'=?,'ExternalModifyDate'=?,'ExternalSourceID'=?,'GIF'=?,'GPermissions'=128,'GroupID'=999,'GUID'='@[537A1229-E0F5-45EE-A3F2-D7F91EE6CBBC]','Major'=?,'MaxVers'=-1,'Minor'=?,'ModifiedBy'=1000,'ModifyDate'=D/2022/9/28:8:10:5,'Multilingual'=V{<'LanguageCode','Name','DComment'><'de','qds-create-poc.txt','created'>},'Name'='qds-create-poc.txt','Ordering'=?,'OriginDataID'=0,'OriginOwnerID'=0,'OwnerID'=-2004,'ParentID'=2004,'PermID'=?,'Priority'=?,'ReleaseRef'=?,'Reserved'=0,'ReservedBy'=0,'ReservedDate'=?,'SPermissions'=16777215,'Status'=?,'SubType'=144,'UPermissions'=16777215,'UserID'=1000,'VersionNum'=1,'WPermissions'=128>,'OK'=true,'ORDERING'=?,'ORIGINALID'=0,'ORIGINALVOLID'=0,'PARENTID'=2004,'PERMISSIONS'=-2130706433,'PermsOK'=true,'Public'=false,'RELEASEREF'=?,'RESERVED'=0,'RESERVEDBY'=0,'RESERVEDDATE'=?,'SUBTYPE'=144,'SYSTEMPERM'=16777215,'USERID'=1000,'USERPERM'=16777215,'VERSION'=A<1,?,'DataSize'=6,'DocID'=51982,'ExternalCreateDate'=?,'ExternalCreatorID'=?,'ExternalModifyDate'=?,'ExternalSourceID'=?,'FileCDate'=D/2022/9/28:8:10:5,'FileCreator'=?,'FileMDate'=D/2022/9/28:8:10:5,'FileName'='qds-create-poc.txt','FileType'='html','GUID'='@[DF09D9F7-6A86-40CB-AECD-57FD5FB7D38B]','Indexed'=0,'Locked'=0,'LockedBy'=?,'LockedDate'=?,'MimeType'='text/html','Owner'=1000,'PageNum'=?,'Platform'=0,'ProviderId'=51982,'ProviderName'='SQL','ResSize'=0,'VerCDate'=D/2022/9/28:8:10:5,'VerComment'=?,'VerMajor'=0,'VerMDate'=D/2022/9/28:8:10:5,'VerMinor'=1,'Version'=1,'VersionID'=51982,'VersionName'='1','VerType'=?>,'versionInfo'=A<1,?,'COMMENT'=?,'CREATEDATE'=D/2022/9/28:8:10:5,'FILECREATEDATE'=D/2022/9/28:8:10:5,'FILECREATOR'=?,'FILEDATASIZE'=6,'FILEMODIFYDATE'=D/2022/9/28:8:10:5,'FILENAME'='qds-create-poc.txt','FILEPLATFORM'=0,'FILERESSIZE'=0,'FILETYPE'='html','ID'=51982,'INDEXED'=0,'LOCKED'=0,'LOCKEDBY'=?,'LOCKEDDATE'=?,'MIMETYPE'='text/html','MODIFYDATE'=D/2022/9/28:8:10:5,'NAME'='1','NODEID'=51982,'NUMBER'=1,'OWNER'=1000,'PROVIDERID'=51982,'PROVIDERNAME'='SQL','TYPE'=?>,'VOLUMEID'=-2004,'WORLDPERM'=128>Content-Type: text/html;charset=UTF-8Cache-Control: no-cacheX-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGINContent-Security-Policy: frame-ancestors 'self'X-UA-Compatible: IE=edgeContent-Length: 0Date: Wed, 28 Sep 2022 08:10:05 GMTConnection: close-------------------------------------------------------------------------------There is a process object (`typeId` = 271), which can be created and executedafterwards allowing attackers to execute arbitrary code.Vulnerable / tested versions:-----------------------------The following version has been tested:* 22.1 (16.2.19.1803)The following versions are vulnerable according to the vendor:* 20.4 - 22.3Vendor contact timeline:------------------------2022-10-07: Vendor contacted via security@opentext.com2022-10-07: Vendor acknowledged the email and is reviewing the reports2022-11-18: Vendor confirms all vulnerabilities and is working on a patch aimed to             be released in November2022-11-24: Vendor delays the patch "few days/weeks into December"2022-11-25: Requesting CVE numbers (Mitre)2022-12-15: Vendor delays the patch and provides a release date: January 16th 20232023-01-17: Public release of security advisorySolution:---------Upgrade to at least version 22.4 or apply hotfixes which can be downloaded atthe vendor's page:https://support.opentext.com/csm?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0781429Workaround:-----------NoneAdvisory URL:-------------https://sec-consult.com/vulnerability-lab/~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SEC Consult Vulnerability LabSEC Consult, an Atos companyEurope | Asia | North AmericaAbout SEC Consult Vulnerability LabThe SEC Consult Vulnerability Lab is an integrated part of SEC Consult, anAtos company. It ensures the continued knowledge gain of SEC Consult in thefield of network and application security to stay ahead of the attacker. TheSEC Consult Vulnerability Lab supports high-quality penetration testing andthe evaluation of new offensive and defensive technologies for our customers.Hence our customers obtain the most current information about vulnerabilitiesand valid recommendation about the risk profile of new technologies.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Interested to work with the experts of SEC Consult?Send us your application https://sec-consult.com/career/Interested in improving your cyber security with the experts of SEC Consult?Contact our local offices https://sec-consult.com/contact/~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Mail: security-research at sec-consult dot comWeb: https://www.sec-consult.comBlog: http://blog.sec-consult.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/sec_consultEOF Armin Stock / @2023

OpenText Extended ECM 22.3 Java Frontend Remote Code Execution

OpenText Extended ECM versions 20.4 through 22.3 suffer from a pre-authentication remote code execution vulnerability in cs.exe.

SEC Consult Vulnerability Lab Security Advisory < 20230117-0 >  
=======================================================================  
               title: Pre-authenticated Remote Code Execution in cs.exe  
             product: OpenText™ Content Server component of OpenText™ Extended ECM  
  vulnerable version: 20.4 - 22.3  
       fixed version: 22.4  
          CVE number: CVE-2022-45923  
              impact: Critical  
            homepage: https://www.opentext.com/  
               found: 2022-09-16  
                  by: Armin Stock (Atos)  
                      SEC Consult Vulnerability Lab

                      An integrated part of SEC Consult, an Atos company  
                      Europe | Asia | North America

                      https://www.sec-consult.com

=======================================================================

Vendor description:  
-------------------  
"OpenText™ Extended ECM is an enterprise CMS platform that securely governs the  
information lifecycle by integrating with leading enterprise applications, such  
as SAP®, Microsoft® 365, Salesforce and SAP SuccessFactors®. Bringing content  
and processes together, Extended ECM provides access to information when and  
where it’s needed, improves decision-making and drives operational effectiveness."

Source: https://www.opentext.com/products/extended-ecm

Business recommendation:  
------------------------  
The vendor provides a patch which should be installed immediately.

Vulnerability overview/description:  
-----------------------------------  
1) Pre-authenticated Remote Code Execution in cs.exe (CVE-2022-45923)  
The `Common Gateway Interface (CGI)` program `cs.exe` of the `Content Server`  
has a vulnerability, which allows an attacker to increase/decrease an arbitrary  
memory address by 1 and to trigger a call to a method of a `vftable` with a  
`vftable pointer` value chosen by the attacker.

The `cs.exe` does de-serialize (crack) the user provided data in the `_fInArgs`  
parameter, if the parameter `_ApiName` is set. During this de-serialization to  
a `class KOSValue` object, the function `obj_ref_cracker` can be called. This  
function tries to create a new `class KOSValue` object with an unknown class ID  
of `3`.

As the class ID is unknown the function returns an object of type  
`KOSValueBaseClass` instead of `KOSObjRefClass`, but the value of the  
`class_ptr` attribute of the new `class KOSValue` object is controlled by the  
attacker. This new object can then be used to increase/decrease arbitrary  
memory addresses and call methods of its `vftable` via the functions  
`KOSValueBaseClass::AddReference` and `KOSValueBaseClass::ReleaseReference`.

Proof of concept:  
-----------------  
1) Pre-authenticated Remote Code Execution in cs.exe (CVE-2022-45923)  
The following request crashes the `CGI` binary `cs.exe` with an `access  
violation exception - 0xC0000005` trying to read memory from address  
`0xAAAA+8`:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
[ PoC removed, will be published at a later date ]  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are `.dll` files (`libaprutil-1` & `libapriconv-1.dll`) which are not  
compiled with the security flag `Address Space Layout Randomization - ASLR`  
enabled, which can be used to achieve remote code execution.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
.\winchecksec.exe --json (get-item C:\OPENTEXT-22\cgi\*.dll) > .\checksec-results.json  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
cat checksec-results.json | jq -r '.[] | [.path, .mitigations.aslr.presence] | @csv'

"icudt69.dll","Present"  
"icuin69.dll","Present"  
"icuio69.dll","Present"  
"icutu69.dll","Present"  
"icuuc69.dll","Present"  
"jsoncpp.dll","Present"  
"libapr-1.dll","Present"  
"libapriconv-1.dll","NotPresent"  
"libaprutil-1.dll","NotPresent"  
"libcrypto-1_1-x64.dll","Present"  
"libexpat.dll","Present"  
"libssl-1_1-x64.dll","Present"  
"llcrypt.dll","Present"  
"llisapi.dll","Present"  
"llkernel.dll","Present"  
"llresources.dll","Present"  
"log4cxx.dll","Present"  
"PocoFoundation.dll","Present"  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vulnerable / tested versions:  
-----------------------------  
The following version has been tested:  
* 22.1 (16.2.19.1803)

The following versions are vulnerable according to the vendor:  
* 20.4 - 22.3

Vendor contact timeline:  
------------------------  
2022-10-07: Vendor contacted via security@opentext.com  
2022-10-07: Vendor acknowledged the email and is reviewing the reports  
2022-11-18: Vendor confirms all vulnerabilities and is working on a patch aimed to  
             be released in November  
2022-11-24: Vendor delays the patch "few days/weeks into December"  
2022-11-25: Requesting CVE numbers (Mitre)  
2022-12-15: Vendor delays the patch and provides a release date: January 16th 2023  
2023-01-17: Public release of security advisory

Solution:  
---------  
Upgrade to at least version 22.4 or apply hotfixes which can be downloaded at  
the vendor's page:  
https://support.opentext.com/csm?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0781429

Workaround:  
-----------  
None

Advisory URL:  
-------------  
https://sec-consult.com/vulnerability-lab/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SEC Consult Vulnerability Lab

SEC Consult, an Atos company  
Europe | Asia | North America

About SEC Consult Vulnerability Lab  
The SEC Consult Vulnerability Lab is an integrated part of SEC Consult, an  
Atos company. It ensures the continued knowledge gain of SEC Consult in the  
field of network and application security to stay ahead of the attacker. The  
SEC Consult Vulnerability Lab supports high-quality penetration testing and  
the evaluation of new offensive and defensive technologies for our customers.  
Hence our customers obtain the most current information about vulnerabilities  
and valid recommendation about the risk profile of new technologies.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Interested to work with the experts of SEC Consult?  
Send us your application https://sec-consult.com/career/

Interested in improving your cyber security with the experts of SEC Consult?  
Contact our local offices https://sec-consult.com/contact/  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mail: security-research at sec-consult dot com  
Web: https://www.sec-consult.com  
Blog: http://blog.sec-consult.com  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sec_consult

EOF Armin Stock / @2023

OpenText Extended ECM 22.3 cs.exe Remote Code Execution

Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in ReQlogic v11.3 allow attackers to execute arbitrary web scripts or HTML via a crafted payload injected into the POBatch and WaitDuration parameters.

**Procurement Software for Microsoft Dynamics**

**A highly configurable end-to-end solution that adapts to your business providing powerful automation and workflow functionality to help you reduce costs and increase value**

Available both on-premise and cloud-based, this solution encompasses all your procurement business needs

Empower your Microsoft Dynamics enterprise resource planning (ERP) with ReQlogic. A complete, customizable procurement solution that includes requisitions, AP automation, expense management, and time tracking. Leverage a strong set of features, advanced workflow and configuration tools that allow you to adapt ReQlogic to your business processes to control spend, reduce costs, automate processes, and drive efficiencies. With unlimited power in workflow, this highly configurable end-to-end productivity suite provides enhanced visibility – anytime, anywhere.

**Why ReQlogic for Procurement?**

*   For many businesses, requisitions, accounts payable (AP) automation, purchasing and employee-related expense processes create communication gaps and black-hole spending that significantly affect time and budgets.
*   Empower your Microsoft Dynamics enterprise resource planning (ERP) with ReQlogic, an eProcurement, requisition, AP automation, time-tracking, and expense-management solution that will drive efficiency and help you take control of costs.
*   ReQlogic adapts to your business, delivering powerful workflow automation and enhanced visibility — anytime, anywhere. With over 60,000 users worldwide, ReQlogic has the functionality, in-market experience, and support services you need to add value to your Microsoft Dynamics environment.

**Automate business processes**

*   Rid yourself of endless paper.
*   Use highly configurable fields designed to mold to your business processes.
*   Streamline approvals with unlimited workflow automation, user-designed fields, GL accounts, projects, item type, budget variance and more.
*   Grant vendors access to the portal that includes document library, invoice entry, communication, and vendor reports.

**Real-time integration to Dynamics ERP**

*   Implement cost controls, make smarter purchases, and control ‘maverick spending.’
*   Confirm receipts prior to invoicing.
*   Drive cost savings by eliminating paper systems while creating an audit trail visible at any time from requisition creations to invoice payment.

**Cost control**

*   Integrate in ‘real-time’ with Dynamics GP, NAV, SL, and Dynamics 365 Business Central ERP solutions.
*   Alternatively, leverage the option of built-in API connectors.
*   Eliminate double entry into multiple systems and save time from editing GL accounts.
*   Create a single version of the truth with a single view into your ERP and eProcurement solution.

**Access anywhere, anytime**

*   Gain access from anywhere, anytime via browser, mobile, and email.
*   Enjoy our user-friendly and easy-to-maintain solution that provides peace of mind.

**ReQlogic will help you**

*   Implement  
    cost control
*   Make smarter  
    purchases
*   Limit 'maverick  
    spending'
*   Increase  
    efficiency

*   Ensure purchase starts with a requisition
    *   Make approval a requirement before purchase
*   Provide standard list of items for purchase
    *   GP inventory – ReQlogic catalog – websites (punchout)
    *   Standardize purchasing

*   Committed – actual – budget comparison
    *   GL Budget – project budget – ReQlogic budget
    *   Make each line item visible with over-budget warning

*   Consolidate multiple requisitions for the same vendor into one PO
    *   Take advantage of volume discounts
*   Implement pricing contracts
    *   Manage through utilizing blanket requisitions

*   Utilize punchout capability
    *   Negotiate special pricing on select items
*   Conduct spend analysis
    *   View purchase history – by item, vendor, date range, project

*   Limit purchases to specific vendors
    *   Include ‘by user’
*   Create unique entry screens to limit access to certain fields such as item, vendor, price, etc.

*   Ensure all purchasing decisions are made by the purchasing agent or department
    *   Vendor-item-pricing
*   Implement strict approver routing rules

*   Automatically route documents through the approval process
*   No lost papers + email reminders to tardy reviewers
*   Auto-create purchase orders
*   Real-time integration to Dynamics ERP systems

*   Create templates to reduce data entry time
*   Reduce purchase of items already in stock
    *   View existing inventory levels
*   Full audit trail of all requests available at any time
    *   Reduce unnecessary phone calls to purchasing or approvers

**ReQlogic Microsoft Dynamics Integration**

ReQlogic has out-of-the-box integrations with the following Microsoft Dynamics ERP platforms:

*   Business Central
*   GP
*   NAV
*   SL

For those organizations not using a Dynamics ERP, our API connectors allow you to integrate with your ERP system of choice for complete accountability and visibility.

Learn how your business could be running more smoothly with ReQlogic   

**ReQlogic options**

**On premise**

Designed to fully integrate with Dynamics GP, SL, NAV, and Dynamics 365 Business Central, this on-premise model provides enhanced requisition/PO functionality with a user-friendly, highly customizable experience.

**Cloud-based**

Designed to fully integrate with Dynamics 365 Business Central, this fully secure cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) model was created using the latest cloud development tools and modern web design without compromising functionality, customizability, or end-user experience.

Unlimited support

Gain access to our seasoned and knowledgeable support team. Utilize the ReQlogic Solution Support Portal, a tool which allows efficient incident tracking, allowing customers and partners to create, update, and view open and closed incidents.

Automate your accounts payable function through AP automation in ReQlogic

Real-time integrated expense  
management in ReQlogic

A highly configurable end-to-end productivity suite ReQlogic

Review the full functionality  
of ReQlogic

Review the full functionality of  
ReQlogic – Cloud

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