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Re: Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS99-025)


From: HorsfallWA () CORNING COM (Horsfall, William A)
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1999 13:39:29 -0400


----------
From:         Microsoft Product Security[SMTP:secnotif () MICROSOFT COM]
Sent:         Monday, July 19, 1999 1:23 PM
To:   MICROSOFT_SECURITY () ANNOUNCE MICROSOFT COM
Subject:      Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS99-025)

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 (MS99-025)
--------------------------------------

Re-Release: Unauthorized Access to IIS Servers through ODBC Data Access with
RDS

Originally Released as MS98-004, July 17, 1998
Re-Released as MS99-025, July 19, 1999

Preface
=======
This bulletin is a re-release of Microsoft Security Bulletin MS98-004,
issued July 17, 1998. It  has recently been brought to our attention that
this vulnerability has been used to gain  unauthorized access to
Internet-connected systems that have not been updated as per the
instructions in MS98-004. The intent of re-releasing this bulletin is to
serve as a reminder  about this vulnerability, to restate the threat, and
encourage system administrators to evaluate  their systems to determine if
their systems have been correctly configured and updated to protect  against
this vulnerability.

Summary
=======
Microsoft encourages the following actions be taken on systems that have
Microsoft(r) Internet  Information Server 3.0 or 4.0 and Microsoft Data
Access Components 1.5, both of which are  installed during a default
installation of the Windows NT(r) 4.0 Option pack:
 - Install the latest version of MDAC (currently MDAC 2.1 SP2).

However, simply upgrading from MDAC 1.5 to MDAC 2.0, or MDAC 2.1 is not
sufficient. For systems  not explicitly utilizing RDS functionality, you
should also:
 - Delete the /msdac virtual directory from the default Web site, or
 - Apply registry settings that disable the DataFactory object. (See
   the Q&A for the registry settings to adjust, or to download a .REG
   file that can make the changes for you.)

For systems implicitly utilizing RDS functionality, you should:
 - Disable Anonymous Access for the /msadc directory in the default
   Web site, and/or
 - Create a Custom Handler to control or filter incoming requests.
   (http://www.microsoft.com/Data/ado/rds/custhand.htm)

If you do not complete these steps, unauthorized access as described below
may still be possible.

Frequently asked questions regarding this vulnerability and updating
systems to protect against it can be found at
http://www.microsoft.com/security/bulletins/MS99-025faq.asp

Issue
=====
The RDS DataFactory object, a component of Microsoft Data Access Components
(MDAC), exposes  unsafe methods. When installed on a system running Internet
Information Server 3.0 or 4.0, the  DataFactory object may permit an
otherwise unauthorized web user to perform privileged actions,  including:
 - Allowing unauthorized users to execute shell commands on the
   IIS system as a privileged user.
 - On a multi-homed Internet-connected IIS system, using MDAC to
   tunnel SQL and other ODBC data requests through the public connection
   to a private back-end network.
 - Allowing unauthorized accessing to secured, non-published files on
   the IIS system.

Affected Software Versions
==========================
 - Microsoft Internet Information Server 3.0 or 4.0 that have or
   have had Microsoft Data Access Components 1.5 installed on it.

NOTE: IIS can be installed as part of other Microsoft products like
Microsoft BackOffice and  Microsoft Site Server.

NOTE: MDAC 1.5 is installed during a default installation of the Windows NT
4.0 Option Pack.

Patch Availability
==================
Newer versions of Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC versions 2.0 and>
2.1) resolve these  known vulnerabilities. However, a system that had MDAC
1.5 installed on it, and then upgraded to  MDAC 2.0 or MDAC 2.1 must still
take actions to disable the DataFactory object. (See the Q&A for  the
registry settings to adjust, or to download a .REG file that can make the
changes for you.)

Current versions of Microsoft Data Access Components can be downloaded from
the following web  site:
 - Microsoft Data Access Download Site
   (http://www.microsoft.com/data/download.htm)

More Information
================
Please see the following references for more information related to this
issue.
 - Microsoft Security Bulletin MS99-025: Frequently Asked Questions,
   http://www.microsoft.com/security/bulletins/MS99-025faq.asp
 - Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) article Q184375,
   Security Implications of RDS 1.5, IIS, and ODBC,
   http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q184/3/75.asp
 - Microsoft Universal Data Access Download Page,
   http://www.microsoft.com/data/download.htm
 - Installing MDAC Q&A,
   http://www.microsoft.com/data/MDAC21info/MDACinstQ.htm
 - Microsoft Security Advisor web site,
   http://www.microsoft.com/security/default.asp
 - IIS Security Checklist,
   http://www.microsoft.com/security/products/iis/CheckList.asp

Obtaining Support on this Issue
===============================
Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) is a fully supported set of
technologies. 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.

Acknowledgments
===============
Microsoft acknowledges Greg Gonzalez of ITE (http://www.infotechent.net) for
bringing additional  information regarding this vulnerability to our
attention. Microsoft also acknowledges Russ  Cooper (NTBugTraq) for his
assistance around this issue.

Revisions
=========
 - July 19, 1999: Bulletin Created as re-release of MS98-004.

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