Kernel vulnerability leaves Windows open
A new vulnerability has been identified in the Window Vista operating system, reports indicate. The flaw in the kernel coding could allow hackers to hide rootkits on systems and launch denial of service attacks, causing potential network security vulnerabilities.
Thomas Unterleitner of Austrian security company Phion, who discovered the exploit, told ZDNet said that he told Microsoft about the flaw in October, although a fix is not expected to be made available until the next Vista service pack is released.
He explained that the vulnerability lies in the network input/output subsystem of the Vista kernel. Denial of service attacks exploiting this could lead to blue-screen-of-death crashes, he warned.
