EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

The director of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) signed-off on an emergency measure that requires federal agencies to apply a Windows update by 2pm EDT today. The update must be made to all endpoints running Windows Server operating systems.

Why is this a CISA priority?

On Patch Tuesday, Microsoft rolled out a security update for a critical vulnerability known as SIGRed, or CVE-2020-1350. The vulnerability, found within the Windows Domain Name System (DNS), was discovered by Check Point researchers. Researchers note that the vulnerability is wormable, easy to exploit, and a likely candidate for exploitation among hackers.

In terms of criticality, this vulnerability presents a threat comparable to that of WannaCry and NotPetya. Via this vulnerability, an attacker could obtain administrator rights on a network, and engage in arbitrary code execution. An attack could propagate independently, yielding a high level of attack damage.

CISA recommends that other organizations also prioritize this patch:

Although the emergency measure only applies to certain federal groups, experts strongly suggest that state and local agencies also take precautions. The private sector and individuals who are operating Windows Server systems should install the updates too.

“CVE-2020-1350 is one of the most serious vulnerabilities disclosed this year. It’s time to burn the midnight oil and get this patched ASAP,” says one expert.

For more on CISA’s directive and this Windows Server systems update, visit Forbes.