Security Update Memory Issue

Microsoft Security Update to Windows XP (KB2724197) causes loss of access to critical memory areas used by dbMASS. Without this memory you will likely find that you don't have sufficient memory to perform many tasks. This problem can be easily corrected by removing this update from your system and by blocking its future installation.

This document provides background information on the risk associated with the removal of this update, instructions on how to remove it and how to prevent if from being reinstalled in the future.


Security Issues

The Microsoft Security Update to Windows XP (KB2724197) was published on Tuesday, October 09, 2012. It is discussed in Microsoft Security Bulletin MS12-068 and is given a classification of Important. It is rated important because the vulnerability is that, if exploited, an elevation of privilege could occur. However, in order to exploit this vulnerability the attacker must have a valid logon credential and be able to logon locally. Normally only trusted individuals will have local logon capabilities. And then, of course, once logged on, the attacker must have a specially crafted application that is run on the machine. There are no known exploitations reported.

Uninstall Update

To repair the machine and restore the memory accessibility require by dbMASS, this update is removed by simply uninstalling this particular security update. This is accomplished through the Add or Remove Programs control found in the Control Panel.

Control Panel/Add or Remove Programs

Currently installed programs and updates

Running this application will display the window shown above. Verify that the "Show updates" checkbox is checked. The update of interest should appear near the end of the displayed list provided the default sort is used (Sort by: Name). Locate and then click on Security Update for Windows XP (KB2724197). The line for this update will expand to show a Remove button.

Security Update for Windows XP (KB2724197)

Click the Remove button and follow the prompts to complete the process.

Ignore This Update

Once you've removed this update from the system, you will need to configure the machine to not reinstall it through automatic updates. Two approaches are provided to disable the Windows Update features from reinstalling this update: a desktop and a web browser base approach. Desktop is the normal way that updates are delivered unless the automatic update feature has been disabled. In the later case, updates are installed using the Web site based approach.

Desktop Windows Update. First, check the automatic updates setting. If it is set to automatically install recommended updates, you need to temporarily change this setting. Use the Automatic Updates control found in the Control Panel to inspect/adjust this setting. Set to either "Download updates ..." or "Notify me ..." and apply.

Control Panel/Automatic Updates

Disable Automatic Updates

Windows will, upon finding updates, prompt you that updates are available but will not install them. This will give you a chance to ignore your selected update. If you want to force Windows to check for updates immediately, open a command prompt and type:

wuauclt /detectnow

Next, once the update is available and you’re prompted to begin the installation, select Advanced. This will show your list of potential updates in a checkbox-list format.

Uncheck the update you do not want to install (KB2724197) and click Next.

You will then be prompted if you want to ignore the update. Confirm.

If you made changes to the Automatic Update setting, now would be the time to reset to the original setting, e.g. Automatic.

Windows Update Web Site. If the automatic update features have been turned off, the Microsoft Update page is probably used to download updates. You will want to hide this update so that it won't be applied in the future. Go to this page and select the Custom installation option.

Microsoft Update for Windows

Then from the list of all available updates, locate the "Security Update for Windows XP (KB2724197)" update in the High-priority updates section. Click on the [+] preceding this update to see its descriptive summary. Below the descriptive paragraph you should see a "Don't show this update again" checkbox. Checking this should hide this update and prevent it from appearing in the future.

 


For answers to commonly asked questions see the Frequently Asked Questions link.

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