Microsoft's own bug hunters should cut Windows Vista some slack and
rate its vulnerabilities differently because of the operating system's
new, baked-in defenses, according to the developer who is often the
public persona of the company's Security Development Lifecycle (SDL)
process.
Michael Howard, a senior security program manager in
Microsoft's security engineering group, said that the Microsoft
Security Response Center (MSRC) is being too conservative in its Vista
vulnerability rating plans. Because Vista includes security techniques
and technologies that Windows XP lacks, the MSRC should reconsider how
it ranks Vista when a vulnerability affects both Microsoft's new
operating system and its predecessor, Windows XP, he said.
"The MSRC folks are, understandably, very conservative and
would rather err on the side of people deploying updates rather than
trying to downgrade bug severity," said Howard on his personal blog last week.
"Don't be surprised if you see a bug that's, say, Important on Windows
XP and Important on Windows Vista, even if Windows Vista has a few more
defenses and mitigations in place."
The operating system, released to consumers in late January,
includes a number of new security features that randomize memory, check
code for buffer overflows and require user permission for potentially
risky operations.
Not surprisingly, the MSRC rejects Howard's argument. "Windows
Vista will not be treated any differently, and severity ratings for any
issues will be based on vulnerability traits and merits, along with
technical mitigating factors," an MSRC spokesperson said. "This process
is the same for all Microsoft products."
Although the MSRC's security bulletins may qualify a bug's severity in some specific environments, its rating system
is clear-cut. If an Internet worm can spread without user action -- the
MSRC's definition of "critical" -- on Vista, the vulnerability will be
so tagged, Vista-specific security technologies notwithstanding.
Analysts and outside Microsoft security professionals took the MSRC's side -- and blasted Howard's idea.
4:39:51 PM 
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