__________________________________________________________ The U.S. Department of Energy Computer Incident Advisory Capability ___ __ __ _ ___ / | /_\ / \___ __|__ / \ \___ __________________________________________________________ INFORMATION BULLETIN Vulnerability in Microsoft Agent [Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS07-051)] September 11, 2007 19:00 GMT Number R-340 [REVISED 18 Sept 2007] ______________________________________________________________________________ PROBLEM: A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Microsoft Agent in the way that it handles certain specially crafted URLs. PLATFORM: Microsoft Windows 2000 (all editions) DAMAGE: Could allow an attacker to remotely execute code on the affected system. SOLUTION: Upgrade to the appropriate version. ______________________________________________________________________________ VULNERABILITY The risk is MEDIUM. Could allow an attacker to remotely execute ASSESSMENT: code on the affected system. ______________________________________________________________________________ LINKS: CIAC BULLETIN: http://www.ciac.org/ciac/bulletins/r-340.shtml ORIGINAL BULLETIN: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS07-051.mspx CVE: http://www.cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name= CVE-2007-3040 ______________________________________________________________________________ REVISION HISTORY: 09/18/2007 - revised R-340 to reflect the changes Microsoft has made in MS07-051 where they updated the FAQ as to why up-level platforms are not affected by the vulnerability addressed by this bulletin. [***** Start Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS07-051) *****] Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-051 - Critical Vulnerability in Microsoft Agent Could Allow Remote Code Execution (938827) Published: September 11, 2007 Version: 1.0 General Information Executive Summary This critical security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability. A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Microsoft Agent in the way that it handles certain specially crafted URLs. The vulnerability could allow an attacker to remotely execute code on the affected system. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights. This is a critical security update for Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4. For more information, see the subsection, Affected and Non-Affected Software, in this section. The security update addresses the vulnerability by changing the way Microsoft Agent handles specially crafted URLs. For more information about the vulnerability, see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) subsection for the vulnerability entry under the next section, Vulnerability Information. Recommendation. Microsoft recommends that customers apply the update immediately. Known Issues. None Top of section Affected and Non-Affected Software The software listed here have been tested to determine which versions or editions are affected. Other versions or editions are either past their support life cycle or are not affected. To determine the support life cycle for your software version or edition, visit Microsoft Support Lifecycle. Affected Software Operating System Maximum Security Impact Aggregate Severity Rating Bulletins Replaced by This Update Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 Remote Code Execution Critical MS07-020 Non-Affected Software Operating System Windows XP Service Pack 2 Windows XP Professional x64 Edition and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition Service Pack 2 Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 and Server 2003 Service Pack 2 Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition and Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition Service Pack 2 Windows Server 2003 with SP1 for Itanium-based Systems and Windows Server 2003 with SP2 for Itanium-based Systems Windows Vista Windows Vista x64 Edition Vulnerability Information Severity Ratings and Vulnerability Identifiers Affected Software Agent Remote Code Execution Vulnerability – CVE-2007-3040 Aggregate Severity Rating Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 Critical Remote Code Execution Critical Top of section Agent Remote Code Execution Vulnerability – CVE-2007-3040 A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Microsoft Agent in the way that it handles certain specially crafted URLs. The vulnerability could allow an attacker to remotely execute code on the affected system. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights. To view this vulnerability as a standard entry in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures list, see CVE-2007-3040. Update Information Detection and Deployment Tools and Guidance Manage the software and security updates you need to deploy to the servers, desktop, and mobile computers in your organization. For more information see the TechNet Update Management Center. The Microsoft TechNet Security Web site provides additional information about security in Microsoft products. Security updates are available from Microsoft Update, Windows Update, and Office Update. Security updates are also available at the Microsoft Download Center. You can find them most easily by doing a keyword search for "security_patch." Finally, security updates can be downloaded from the Windows Update Catalog. For more information about the Windows Update Catalog, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 323166. Detection and Deployment Guidance Microsoft has provided detection and deployment guidance for this month’s security updates. This guidance will also help IT professionals understand how they can use various tools to help deploy the security update, such as Windows Update, Microsoft Update, Office Update, the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA), the Office Detection Tool, Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS), the Extended Security Update Inventory Tool, and the Enterprise Update Scan Tool (EST). For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 910723. Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) allows administrators to scan local and remote systems for missing security updates as well as common security misconfigurations. For more information about MBSA visit Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer Web site. The following table provides the MBSA detection summary for this security update. Software MBSA 1.2.1 MBSA 2.0.1 Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 Yes Yes For more information about MBSA, visit the MBSA Web site. For more information about the software that Microsoft Update and MBSA 2.0 currently do not detect, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 895660. Windows Server Update Services By using Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), administrators can deploy the latest critical updates and security updates for Microsoft Windows 2000 operating systems and later, Office XP and later, Exchange Server 2003, and SQL Server 2000 to Microsoft Windows 2000 and later operating systems. For more information about how to deploy this security update using Windows Server Update Services, visit the Windows Server Update Services Web site. Systems Management Server The following table provides the SMS detection and deployment summary for this security update. Software SMS 2.0 SMS 2003 Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 Yes Yes SMS 2.0 and SMS 2003 Software Update Services (SUS) Feature Pack can use MBSA 1.2.1 for detection and therefore have the same limitation that is listed earlier in this bulletin related to programs that MBSA 1.2.1 does not detect. For SMS 2.0, the SMS SUS Feature Pack, which includes the Security Update Inventory Tool (SUIT), can be used by SMS to detect security updates. SMS SUIT uses the MBSA 1.2.1 engine for detection. For more information about SUIT, visit the following Microsoft Web site. For more information about the limitations of SUIT, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 306460. The SMS SUS Feature Pack also includes the Microsoft Office Inventory Tool to detect required updates for Microsoft Office applications. For SMS 2003, the SMS 2003 Inventory Tool for Microsoft Updates (ITMU) can be used by SMS to detect security updates that are offered by Microsoft Update and that are supported by Windows Server Update Services. For more information about the SMS 2003 ITMU, visit the following Microsoft Web site. SMS 2003 can also use the Microsoft Office Inventory Tool to detect required updates for Microsoft Office applications. For more information about SMS, visit the SMS Web site. Security Update Deployment Affected Software For information about the specific security update for your affected software, click the appropriate link: * Microsoft Windows 2000 (all editions) Other Information Acknowledgments Microsoft thanks the following for working with us to help protect customers: • The Vulnerability Research team of Assurent Secure Technologies for reporting the Agent Remote Code Execution Vulnerability – CVE-2007-3040 • Yamata Li of Palo Alto Networks for reporting the Agent Remote Code Execution Vulnerability – CVE-2007-3040 • An anonymous researcher working with VeriSign iDefense VCP for reporting the Agent Remote Code Execution Vulnerability – CVE-2007-3040 Top of section Support • Customers in the U.S. and Canada can receive technical support from Microsoft Product Support Services at 1-866-PCSAFETY. There is no charge for support calls that are associated with security updates. • International customers can receive support from their local Microsoft subsidiaries. There is no charge for support that is associated with security updates. For more information about how to contact Microsoft for support issues, visit the International Support Web site. Top of section Disclaimer The information provided in the Microsoft Knowledge Base is provided "as is" 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. Top of section Revisions • V1.0 (August 14, 2007): Bulletin published. [***** End Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS07-051) *****] _______________________________________________________________________________ CIAC wishes to acknowledge the contributions of Microsoft for the information contained in this bulletin. _______________________________________________________________________________ CIAC, the Computer Incident Advisory Capability, is the computer security incident response team for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the emergency backup response team for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). CIAC is located at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California. CIAC is also a founding member of FIRST, the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams, a global organization established to foster cooperation and coordination among computer security teams worldwide. CIAC services are available to DOE, DOE contractors, and the NIH. CIAC can be contacted at: Voice: +1 925-422-8193 (7x24) FAX: +1 925-423-8002 STU-III: +1 925-423-2604 E-mail: ciac@ciac.org Previous CIAC notices, anti-virus software, and other information are available from the CIAC Computer Security Archive. World Wide Web: http://www.ciac.org/ Anonymous FTP: ftp.ciac.org PLEASE NOTE: Many users outside of the DOE, ESnet, and NIH computing communities receive CIAC bulletins. If you are not part of these communities, please contact your agency's response team to report incidents. Your agency's team will coordinate with CIAC. The Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST) is a world-wide organization. A list of FIRST member organizations and their constituencies can be obtained via WWW at http://www.first.org/. This document was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor the University of California nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation or favoring by the United States Government or the University of California. 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