This security update resolves a publicly disclosed vulnerability in Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, and Microsoft Lync. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a user views content that contains specially crafted TIFF files.
This security update is rated Critical for all supported editions of Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Microsoft Office 2003, Microsoft Office 2007, Microsoft Office 2010, Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack, and Microsoft Office viewers. It is rated Important for all supported editions of Microsoft Lync 2010 and Microsoft Lync 2013. For more information, see the subsection, Affected and Non-Affected Software, in this section.
The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting the way the affected software handles TIFF files. For more information about the vulnerability, see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) subsection for the specific vulnerability entry under the next section, Vulnerability Information.
This security update addresses the vulnerability first described in Microsoft Security Advisory 2896666.
Recommendation. Most customers have automatic updating enabled and will not need to take any action because this security update will be downloaded and installed automatically. Customers who have not enabled automatic updating need to check for updates and install this update manually. For information about specific configuration options in automatic updating, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 294871.
For administrators and enterprise installations, or end users who want to install this security update manually, Microsoft recommends that customers apply the update immediately using update management software, or by checking for updates using the Microsoft Update service.