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The U.S. Department of Energy
Computer Incident Advisory Capability
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INFORMATION BULLETIN
Microsoft Windows Script Engine Vulnerability
[Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-008]
March 20, 2003 22:00 GMT Number N-063
______________________________________________________________________________
PROBLEM: A flaw exists in the way Windows Script Engine for JScript
processes information. An attacker could exploit the
vulnerability by constructing a web page that, when visited by
the user, would execute code of the attacker’s choice with the
user’s privileges.
PLATFORM: Microsoft Windows 98 Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition
Microsoft Windows Me Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Microsoft Windows
NT 4.0 Terminal Server Edition Microsoft Windows 2000 Microsoft
Windows XP
DAMAGE: Run code of attacker's choice.
SOLUTION: Apply patch as stated in Microsoft's bulletin.
______________________________________________________________________________
VULNERABILITY The risk is MEDIUM. For an attack to be successful, the user
ASSESSMENT: would need to visit a website under the attacker's control or
receive an HTML e-mail from the attacker.
______________________________________________________________________________
LINKS:
CIAC BULLETIN: http://www.ciac.org/ciac/bulletins/n-063.shtml
ORIGINAL BULLETIN:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview
/default.asp?url=/technet/security/bulletin
/MS03-008.asp
______________________________________________________________________________
[***** Start Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-008 *****]
Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-008
Flaw in Windows Script Engine Could Allow Code Execution (814078)
Originally posted: March 19, 2003
Summary
Who should read this bulletin: Customers using Microsoft® Windows®.
Impact of vulnerability: Run Code of Attacker’s Choice
Maximum Severity Rating: Critical
Recommendation: Customers should install the patch immediately.
End User Bulletin: An end user version of this bulletin is available
at: http://www.microsoft.com/security/security_bulletins/ms03-008.asp.
Affected Software:
Microsoft Windows 98
Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition
Microsoft Windows Me
Microsoft Windows NT 4.0
Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server Edition
Microsoft Windows 2000
Microsoft Windows XP
Technical details
Technical description:
The Windows Script Engine provides Windows operating systems with the
ability to execute script code. Script code can be used to add
functionality to web pages, or to automate tasks within the operating
system or within a program. Script code can be written in several
different scripting languages, such as Visual Basic Script, or JScript.
A flaw exists in the way by which the Windows Script Engine for JScript
processes information. An attacker could exploit the vulnerability by
constructing a web page that, when visited by the user, would execute
code of the attacker’s choice with the user’s privileges. The web page
could be hosted on a web site, or sent directly to the user in email.
Although Microsoft has supplied a patch for this vulnerability and
recommends all affected customers install the patch immediately,
additional preventive measures have been provided that customers can
use to help block the exploitation of this vulnerability while they
are assessing the impact and compatibility of the patch. These
temporary workarounds are discussed in the “Workarounds” section in
the FAQ below.
Mitigating factors:
* For an attack to be successful, the user would need to visit a website
under the attacker's control or receive an HTML e-mail from the attacker.
* Computers configured to disable active scripting in Internet Explorer
are not susceptible to this issue.
* Exploiting the vulnerability would allow the attacker only the same
privileges as the user. Users whose accounts are configured to have few
privileges on the system would be at less risk than ones who operate
with administrative privileges.
* Automatic exploitation of the vulnerability by an HTML email would be
blocked by Outlook Express 6.0 and Outlook 2002 in their default
configurations, and by Outlook 98 and 2000 if used in conjunction with
the Outlook Email Security Update.
Severity Rating:
Windows 98 Critical
Windows 98 Second Edition Critical
Windows Me Critical
Windows NT 4.0 Critical
Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server Edition Critical
Windows 2000 Critical
Windows XP Critical
The above assessment is based on the types of systems affected by the
vulnerability, their typical deployment patterns, and the effect that
exploiting the vulnerability would have on them.
Vulnerability identifier: CAN-2003-0010
Tested Versions:
Microsoft tested Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows Me,
Windows NT 4.0, Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server Edition, Windows 2000,
and Windows XP to assess whether they are affected by these
vulnerabilities. Previous versions are no longer supported, and may
or may not be affected by these vulnerabilities.
Patch availability
Download locations for this patch
The patches for all Windows systems are available via Windows Update.
In addition, these patches are also available for download to allow
the patches to be manually installed.
Windows 98 and Windows 98 SE:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows98/downloads/contents/WUCritical
/q814078/default.asp
Windows Me:
Windows Update.
Windows NT 4.0:
http://microsoft.com/downloads
/details.aspx?FamilyId=C6504FD9-5E2C-45BF-9424-55D7C5D2221B&displaylang=en
Windows NT 4.0, Terminal Server Edition:
http://microsoft.com/downloads
/details.aspx?FamilyId=C6504FD9-5E2C-45BF-9424-55D7C5D2221B&displaylang=en
Windows 2000:
http://microsoft.com/downloads
/details.aspx?FamilyId=824B1BD4-B4D6-49D5-8C58-199BDC731B64&displaylang=en
Windows XP Home Edition and Professional Edition:
http://microsoft.com/downloads
/details.aspx?FamilyId=824B1BD4-B4D6-49D5-8C58-199BDC731B64&displaylang=en
Additional information about this patch
Installation platforms:
* The Window 98 patch can be installed on systems running Windows 98 Gold.
* The Window 98SE patch can be installed on systems running Windows 98SE Gold.
* The Windows Me patch can be installed on systems running Windows Me Gold.
* The Windows NT 4.0 patch can be installed on systems running Service Pack 6a.
* The Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server Edition patch can be installed on systems
running Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server Edition Service Pack 6.
* The Windows 2000 patch can be installed on systems running Windows 2000
Service Pack 2 or Service Pack 3.
* The patch for Windows XP can be installed on systems running Windows XP Gold
or Service Pack 1.
Inclusion in future service packs:
The fix for this issue will be included in Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 and
Windows XP Service Pack 2.
Reboot needed: Yes
Patch can be uninstalled: No
Superseded patches: None.
Verifying patch installation: To verify that the patch has been installed on
the machine, confirm that the following registry key has been created on the
machine:
* Windows 98, Windows 98SE and Window Me:
To verify that the patch has been installed on the machine, use the Qfecheck.exe
tool and confirm that the display includes the following information:
UPD814078 Windows xx Q814078 Update
where xx is “98” for Windows 98 or 98SE, or “Me” for Windows Me.
To verify the individual files, consult the file manifest in Knowledge
Base article Q814078.
* Windows NT 4.0:
To verify that the patch has been installed on the machine, confirm that all
files listed in the file manifest in Knowledge Base article Q814078 are
present on the system.
* Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server Edition:
To verify that the patch has been installed on the machine, confirm that all
files listed in the file manifest in Knowledge Base article Q814078 are
present on the system.
* Windows 2000:
To verify that the patch has been installed on the machine, confirm that the
following registry key has been created on the machine:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Updates\Windows 2000\SP4\Q814078.
To verify the individual files, use the date/time and version information
provided in the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Updates\Windows 2000\SP4\Q814078\Filelist.
* Windows XP:
To verify that the patch has been installed, confirm that the following registry
key has been created on the machine:
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Updates\Windows XP\SP2\Q814078.
To verify the individual files, use the date/time and version information
provided in the following registry key:
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Updates\Windows XP\SP2\Q814078\Filelist.
Caveats:
None
Localization:
Localized versions of this patch are available at the locations discussed in
“Patch Availability”.
Obtaining other security patches:
Patches for other security issues are available from the following locations:
* Security patches are available from the Microsoft Download Center, and can be
most easily found by doing a keyword search for "security_patch".
* Patches for consumer platforms are available from the WindowsUpdate web site
Other information:
Support:
* Knowledge Base Article 814078 discusses this issue. Knowledge Base articles can
be found on the Microsoft Online Support web site.
* Technical support is available from Microsoft Product Support Services. There is
no charge for support calls associated with security patches.
Security Resources: The Microsoft TechNet Security Web Site provides additional
information about security in Microsoft products.
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.
Revisions:
V1.0 (March 19, 2003): Bulletin Created.
[***** End Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-008 *****]
_______________________________________________________________________________
CIAC wishes to acknowledge the contributions of Microsoft Corporation 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,
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otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement,
recommendation or favoring by the United States Government or the
University of California. The views and opinions of authors expressed
herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States
Government or the University of California, and shall not be used for
advertising or product endorsement purposes.
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