Webtrends Reporting Center Buffer Overflow (#NISR17042002C)

["NGSSoftware Insight Security Research" <nisr () ngssoftware com>]

NGSSoftware Insight Security Research Advisory

Name:    WebTrends Reporting Center 4.0d
Systems Affected:  WinNT, Win2K, XP
Severity:  High Risk
Category:               Remote System Buffer Overrun
Vendor URL:   http://www.webtrends.com
Author:   Mark Litchfield (mark () ngssoftware com)
Advisory URL:  http://www.ngssoftware.com/advisories/wtr.txt
Date:   17th April 2002
Advisory number: #NISR17042002C

Issue: Attackers can run arbitrary code, remotely, as SYSTEM.

Description
***********
WebTrends Reporting Center provides fast and comprehensive analysis of web
site activity to multiple decision-makers  throughout an organization via a
browser-based interface.  WebTrends Reporting Center is, according to their
own website,  NetIQ's flagship web analytics reporting product, recently
receiving an Editor's Choice Award from Network Computing Magazine  (Feb 6,
2002).

Details
*******
Buffer Overrun: In order for an attacker to exploit this vulnerability
requires they must first undergo user authentication at
http://targetmachine:1099(default listening port)/remote_login.pl. However,
Webtrends Reporting Server allows anonymous logins for reports that are made
available for public viewing.  After a successful login, making a GET
request to http://targetmachine:1099/reports/(Long Char String) will cause
an access violation occurs in WTRS_UI.EXE (WTX_REMOTE.DLL) overwriting the
saved return address on the stack.  The Reporting Server process,
WTRS_UI.EXE, is by default started as a system service along with WTRS.EXE,
therefore any arbitary code would execute with  system privileges.

Path Disclosure - By making a simple GET request for
http://targetmachine/get_od_toc.pl?Profile= (no authentication required) an
error message is returned - Unable to open content file
path=C:/PROGRA~1/WEBTRE~1/wtm_wtx/


Fix Information
***************
NGSSoftware alerted Webtrends to the buffer overrun issue on 31st March 2002
and future versions will be fixed. There is still some question as to
whether a patch will be produced for earlier versions. In the meantime
NGSSoftware recommend preventing anonymous access to the Reports server.
NGSSoftware recommend that where possible, the service be run as a low
privileged account as opposed to starting it as a system service.

A check for these issues have been added to Typhon II, NGSSoftware's
vulnerability assessment scanner, of which more information is available
from the NGSSite : http://www.ngssoftware.com/.

Further Information
*******************
For further information about the scope and effects of buffer overflows,
please see

http://www.ngssoftware.com/papers/non-stack-bo-windows.pdf
http://www.ngssoftware.com/papers/ntbufferoverflow.html
http://www.ngssoftware.com/papers/bufferoverflowpaper.rtf
http://www.ngssoftware.com/papers/unicodebo.pdf