Obsolescence & vulnerability review

Hi @Aditya Shah ,

Thanks for reaching out.

For your SBOM and component review:

1. Check lifecycle & support: For each component, you can look up the official Microsoft lifecycle pages or vendor documentation to find End of Support (EOS) or End of Life (EOL) dates. This tells you which components are still supported and safe to use.
   • Microsoft Lifecycle Product Search: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/
   • Lifecycle Policy Overview: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/
   • .NET Support Policy: https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/platform/support/policy/dotnet-core
   • .NET Framework Support Policy: https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/platform/support/policy/dotnet-framework
2. Identify current supported versions: Make a note of the latest stable versions of each component. Microsoft Docs or NuGet pages are usually the best sources for this.
   • NuGet Package Explorer: https://www.nuget.org/
3. Upgrade guidance: For components that are outdated, plan your upgrade path step by step. Sometimes you need intermediate versions before moving to the latest one to avoid breaking changes.
   • .NET Upgrade Guide: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/core/porting/
4. Vulnerability check: Use official security advisories (like Microsoft Security Update Guide) or tools like OWASP Dependency-Check to see if any known vulnerabilities exist for the versions you’re using. Flag any that are critical.
   • Microsoft Security Update Guide: https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/
   • Security Updates Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/

Hope this helps! If my answer was helpful, I would greatly appreciate it if you could follow the instructions here so others with the same problem can benefit as well.

Details for the specific components in the attached PDF are not available in the provided context, so only general Microsoft guidance can be given.

For Microsoft products in general:

1. Lifecycle & Support

• Official End of Support (EOS) / End of Life (EOL) dates

• Use the Microsoft Product Lifecycle Search page to look up each Microsoft product and version: it provides start date, mainstream support end date, and extended support end date.
• Products that have reached end of support no longer receive security updates, non‑security updates, or assisted support.

• Lifecycle / support policy page

• The Product Lifecycle Search page is the central entry point for lifecycle timelines and links to policy details for each product.

2. Current Supported Versions

• For each Microsoft component in the SBOM, determine whether it is still supported by:

• Searching the product name and version in the Microsoft Product Lifecycle Search.
• If the version is not listed or is in the “Ending Support in <year>” lists, treat it as out of support and plan an upgrade.

3. Upgrade Guidance

• General approach for Microsoft components:

• If a product is in extended support or already out of support, plan to move to a version that is listed as supported in the Product Lifecycle Search.
• For products with service packs or cumulative updates, ensure the latest service pack or rollup supported by the lifecycle policy is installed.
• For embedded or older Windows platforms, review Microsoft security advisory 4025685 for guidance on critical security updates (for example, MS17‑010) and ensure the corresponding KBs are applied if the OS is still in use.
• When moving between major versions (for example, older Windows or .NET components), follow the vendor’s documented upgrade path, which may require stepping through intermediate supported versions.

4. Vulnerability Analysis

• For older and embedded Windows platforms, Microsoft security advisory 4025685 documents whether specific OS versions are affected by key vulnerabilities and which KB updates address them. For example:

• Older platforms table 1 of 3 lists whether Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition SP2 is affected by vulnerabilities such as MS08‑067, MS10‑061, MS17‑010, and which KBs remediate them.
• Embedded platforms tables list Windows Embedded Standard 7 SP1, Windows Embedded 8 Standard, and Windows Embedded 2012 R2 for Embedded Systems, and show for each vulnerability (MS08‑067, MS09‑050, MS10‑061, MS14‑068, MS17‑010, MS17‑013) whether the OS is affected and which KBs (security‑only or monthly rollup) provide fixes. • For any Microsoft OS or component that is out of support according to the lifecycle pages, treat it as having unpatched vulnerabilities by design, because it no longer receives security updates. • For in‑support products, use Defender Vulnerability Management (Software components view) to:
• Identify software components and dependencies present on devices.
• See known vulnerabilities and recommended remediations for those components.

To complete the SBOM review for the attached list of components:

1. For each Microsoft product/version in the PDF, look it up in the Microsoft Product Lifecycle Search to obtain EOS/EOL dates and confirm support status.
2. For any Windows client, server, or embedded OS in the list, cross‑check against Microsoft security advisory 4025685 if it falls into the older or embedded platform categories, and ensure the listed KBs for MS17‑010 and other critical vulnerabilities are applied if the OS is still in use.
3. For components still in support, use Defender Vulnerability Management’s Software components capability to identify known vulnerabilities and remediation guidance.
4. For components out of support, plan upgrades to currently supported versions identified in the lifecycle search and treat them as security risks until replaced.

References:

• Microsoft security advisory 4025685: Guidance for embedded platforms: June 13, 2017
• Microsoft security advisory 4025685: Guidance for older platforms: June 13, 2017
• Software components
• Overview - Product End of Support & Retirements
• Ending Support in 2012
• Ending Support in 2005
• Ending Support in 2010