Fortinet Discovers Microsoft Windows Diagnostics Hub/Visual Studio Standard Collector Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Summary

Fortinet's FortiGuard Labs has discovered an elevation of privilege vulnerability in the Diagnostics Hub Standard Collector and the Visual Studio Standard Collector.

Diagnostics Hub Standard Collector is part of Windows diagnostics tools and it collects real time ETW events and processes them. Visual Studio Standard Collector is part of Visual Studio's diagnostics tools and it's used for diagnostics of code running in Visual Studio.

The vulnerability in the Diagnostics Hub Standard Collector and the Visual Studio Standard Collector could allow file deletion in arbitrary locations on Windows system. To exploit the vulnerability, an attacker would first have to log on to the system. Then the attacker could run a specially crafted application that could exploit the vulnerability and take control of the affected system.

Solutions

Users should apply the solution provided by Microsoft.

Timeline

Fortinet reported the vulnerability to Microsoft on January 28, 2019.

Microsoft confirmed the vulnerability on January 30, 2019.

Microsoft released patch for the vulnerability on May 14, 2019.

Acknowledgement

This vulnerability was discovered by Wayne Low of Fortinet's FortiGuard Labs.

References

• https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-us/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2019-0727
• CVE-2019-0727

IPS Subscription

Fortinet customers who subscribe to Fortinet's intrusion prevention (IPS) service should be protected against this vulnerability with the appropriate configuration parameters in place. Fortinet's IPS service is one component of FortiGuard Subscription Services, which also offer comprehensive solutions such as antivirus, Web content filtering and antispam capabilities. These services enable protection against threats on both application and network layers. FortiGuard Services are continuously updated by FortiGuard Labs, which enables Fortinet to deliver a combination of multi-layered security intelligence and true zero-day protection from new and emerging threats. These updates are delivered to all FortiGate, FortiMail and FortiClient products. Fortinet strictly follows responsible disclosure guidelines to ensure optimum protection during a threat's lifecycle.