On March 29, 2018, Microsoft has released security updates to fix a vulnerability in Windows 7 x64 and Windows Server 2008 R2 x64 systems. When the Microsoft patch for meltdown is installed on a Windows 7 x64 or Windows Server 2008 R2 x64 system, an unprivileged process may be able to read and write the entire memory space available to the Windows kernel. This flaw was found by a security researcher, Ulf Frisk. The 64-bit Windows 7 system that was patched between January and February 2018 has this serious vulnerability, and Windows 7 systems that have not been patched or patched in March are not affected.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows kernel fails to properly handle objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could run arbitrary code in kernel mode. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights.
To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would first have to log on to the system. An attacker could then run a specially crafted application to take control of an affected system.
The update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how the Windows kernel handles objects in memory.
Source:
- https://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/277400
- http://blog.frizk.net/2018/03/total-meltdown.html
- https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2018-1038
