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Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS99-019)

daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (aleph1@UNDERGROUND.ORG)
Fri Jun 18 12:49:09 1999

Message-Id: <19990618162334.9396.qmail@underground.org>
Date: 	Fri, 18 Jun 1999 09:23:33 -0700
Reply-To: aleph1@UNDERGROUND.ORG
From: aleph1@UNDERGROUND.ORG
To: BUGTRAQ@NETSPACE.ORG

The following is a Security  Bulletin from the Microsoft Product Security
Notification Service.

Please do not  reply to this message,  as it was sent  from an unattended
mailbox.
                    ********************************

Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS99-019)
--------------------------------------

Patch Available for "Malformed HTR Request" Vulnerability

Originally Posted: June 15, 1999
Updated: June 17, 1999

Summary
=======
This is an update to Microsoft Security Bulletin MS99-019. The purpose of
the update is  to advise customers of the availability of a patch that
eliminates the vulnerability  originally discussed, as well as variants that
Microsoft has subsequently identified.

Microsoft has released a patch that eliminates a vulnerability in
Microsoft(r) Internet  Information Server 4.0. The vulnerability could allow
denial of service attacks against  an IIS server or, under certain
conditions, could allow arbitrary code to be run on the  server. The patch
is fully supported, and Microsoft recommends that affected customers
download and install it, if appropriate.

Issue
=====
IIS supports several file types that require server-side processing. When a
web site  visitor requests a file of one of these types, an appropriate
filter DLL processes it. A  vulnerability exists in the way that .HTR, .STM
and .IDC files are processed.

The vulnerability involves an unchecked buffer in the filter DLLs for these
file types.  This poses two threats to safe operation. The first is a denial
of service threat. A  malformed request for an .HTR, .STM or .IDC file could
overflow the buffer, causing IIS  to crash. The server would not need to be
rebooted, but IIS would need to be rebooted in  order to resume service. The
second threat is that a carefully-constructed file request  could cause
arbitrary code to execute on the server via a classic buffer overrun
technique. Neither attack could occur accidentally.

While there are no reports of customers being adversely affected
by this vulnerability, Microsoft is proactively releasing this
patch to allow customers to take appropriate action to protect
themselves against it. In addition, web sites that do not require
these file types can disable them altogether, as discussed in
Microsoft's IIS Security Checklist
(http://www.microsoft.com/security/products/iis/CheckList.asp)

Affected Software Versions
==========================
 - Microsoft Internet Information Server 4.0

What Microsoft is Doing
=======================
Microsoft has released a patch that fixes the problem identified. The patch
is available  for download from the site listed below in What Customers
Should Do.

Microsoft also has sent this security bulletin to customers
subscribing to the Microsoft Product Security Notification Service.
See http://www.microsoft.com/security/services/bulletin.asp for
more information about this free customer service.

Microsoft has published the following Knowledge Base (KB) article on this
issue:
 - Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) article Q234905,
   An Improperly Formatted HTTP Request Can Cause The Inetinfo
   Process To Fail,
   http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q234/9/05.asp
   (Note: It might take 24 hours from the original posting of this
   bulletin for the KB article to be visible in the Web-based
   Knowledge Base.)

What Customers Should Do
========================
Microsoft highly recommends that customers evaluate the degree of risk that
this vulnerability poses to their systems and determine whether to download
and install the patch. The patch can be found at:
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/IIS/iis-public/fixes/usa/ext-fix/.

More Information
================
Please see the following references for more information related to this
issue.
 - Microsoft Security Bulletin MS99-019,
   Patch Available for "Malformed HTR Request" Vulnerability,
   (The Web-posted version of this bulletin),
   http://www.microsoft.com/security/bulletins/ms99-019.asp.
 - Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) article Q234905,
   An Improperly Formatted HTTP Request Can Cause The Inetinfo
   Process To Fail,
   http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q234/9/05.asp.
 - IIS Security Checklist,
   http://www.microsoft.com/security/products/iis/CheckList.asp

Obtaining Support on this Issue
===============================
If you require technical assistance with this issue, please contact
Microsoft Technical Support. For information on contacting Microsoft
Technical Support, please see
http://support.microsoft.com/support/contact/default.asp.

Revisions
=========
 - June 15, 1999: Bulletin Created.
 - June 17, 1999: Bulletin updated to advise availability of patch
   for .HTR, .STM, and .IDC files


For additional security-related information about Microsoft products,
please visit http://www.microsoft.com/security


------------------------------------------------------------------------

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WITHOUT  WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. MICROSOFT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER
EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,  INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS
FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO  EVENT SHALL MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS
SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER  INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT,
INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR  SPECIAL DAMAGES,
EVEN IF MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE
POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR
LIMITATION OF  LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES SO THE
FOREGOING LIMITATION MAY NOT  APPLY.

(c) 1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Terms of Use.

   *******************************************************************
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