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CERT Advisory CA-2001-37 Buffer Overflow in UPnP Service On

daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (CERT Advisory)
Fri Dec 21 07:13:29 2001

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Date: Fri, 21 Dec 2001 07:10:40 -0500
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CERT Advisory CA-2001-37 Buffer Overflow in UPnP Service On Microsoft Windows

    Original release date: December 20, 2001
    Last revised: --
    Source: CERT/CC

    A complete revision history can be found at the end of this file.

Systems Affected

      * Microsoft Windows XP
      * Microsoft Windows ME
      * Microsoft Windows 98
      * Microsoft Windows 98SE

Overview

    Vulnerabilities  in  software included by default on Microsoft Windows
    XP, and optionally on Windows ME and Windows 98, may allow an intruder
    to   execute   arbitrary   code   on  vulnerable  systems,  to  launch
    denial-of-service  attacks  against  vulnerable  systems,  or  to  use
    vulnerable   systems   to  launch  denial-of-service  attacks  against
    third-party systems.

I. Description

    There is a vulnerability in the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) service
    on  Microsoft Windows XP and Microsoft Windows ME that could permit an
    intruder to execute arbitrary code with administrative privileges on a
    vulnerable  system.  The  UPnP  service  is  enabled by default on XP.
    Microsoft  does  not ship Windows ME with UPnP enabled by default, but
    some  PC manufacturers do. UPnP may be optionally installed on Windows
    98 and Windows 98SE. This vulnerability was discovered by Eeye Digital
    Security. For more information, see

           http://www.eeye.com/html/Research/Advisories/AD20011220.html
           http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS01-059.asp

    Universal  Plug  and  Play  (UPnP)  is  a  set of protocols that allow
    computer  systems  and network devices to work together with little or
    no prior configuration.

    One  vulnerability  is a buffer overflow in the code that handles UPnP
    NOTIFY  directives.  This  vulnerability permits an intruder to send a
    malicious  NOTIFY  directive  to  a  vulnerable computer and cause the
    computer  to run code of the intruder's choice. The code will run with
    full  privileges on all vulnerable systems, including Windows XP. This
    can permit an attacker to take complete control of the system.

    A second vulnerability in the Microsoft Windows implementation of UPnP
    could  allow  an  intruder  to  consume  memory  and processor time on
    vulnerable  systems,  resulting in performance degradation. Variations
    on  this  problem  can allow an intruder to use a vulnerable system to
    launch a denial-of-service attack against a third-party.

    For more information about these vulnerabilities, see

           http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/951555
           http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/411059

    These   vulnerabilities   have   been  assigned  the  CVE  identifiers
    CAN-2001-0876 and CAN-2001-0877, respectively.

II. Impact

    Intruders   can  gain  complete  control  of  vulnerable  systems,  or
    interrupt the normal operation of vulnerable systems.

III. Solution

Apply a patch from your vendor

    Microsoft has provided patch information in their bulletin. Please see
    MS01-059, available from

    http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS01-059.asp

Block Access to UPnP Service

    Until  a  patch  can  be applied, you can reduce your exposure to this
    problem  by  blocking  access  to  ports 1900 and 5000 at your network
    border.  This  does not eliminate your exposure to attacks originating
    from within your network, however.

    Note  that  Microsoft  Internet  Connection  Firewall,  which  runs by
    default  on  Windows  XP, does not provide complete protection against
    this  attack.  Specifically,  an intruder can still use a broadcast or
    multicast  address  to reach the UPnP service on Microsoft Windows. On
    systems that don't require UPnP, it can be disabled.

    Author: Shawn V. Hernan
    ______________________________________________________________________

    This document is available from:
    http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-2001-37.html
    ______________________________________________________________________

CERT/CC Contact Information

    Email: cert@cert.org
           Phone: +1 412-268-7090 (24-hour hotline)
           Fax: +1 412-268-6989
           Postal address:
           CERT Coordination Center
           Software Engineering Institute
           Carnegie Mellon University
           Pittsburgh PA 15213-3890
           U.S.A.

    CERT/CC   personnel   answer  the  hotline  08:00-17:00  EST(GMT-5)  /
    EDT(GMT-4)  Monday  through  Friday;  they are on call for emergencies
    during other hours, on U.S. holidays, and on weekends.

Using encryption

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    Our public PGP key is available from

    http://www.cert.org/CERT_PGP.key

    If  you  prefer  to  use  DES,  please  call the CERT hotline for more
    information.

Getting security information

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    http://www.cert.org/

    To  subscribe  to  the CERT mailing list for advisories and bulletins,
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    *  "CERT"  and  "CERT  Coordination Center" are registered in the U.S.
    Patent and Trademark Office.
    ______________________________________________________________________

    NO WARRANTY
    Any  material furnished by Carnegie Mellon University and the Software
    Engineering  Institute  is  furnished  on  an  "as is" basis. Carnegie
    Mellon University makes no warranties of any kind, either expressed or
    implied  as  to  any matter including, but not limited to, warranty of
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      _________________________________________________________________

    Conditions for use, disclaimers, and sponsorship information

    Copyright 2001 Carnegie Mellon University.

    Revision History
December 20, 2001: Initial release

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