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 (MS00-006) -------------------------------------- Patch Available for "Malformed Hit-Highlighting Argument" Vulnerability Originally Posted: January 26, 2000 Summary ======= Microsoft has released a patch that eliminates two security vulnerabilities in Microsoft(r) Index Server. The first vulnerability could allow a malicious user to view -- but not to change, add or delete -- files on a web server. The second vulnerability could reveal where web directories are physically located on the server. Frequently asked questions regarding this vulnerability and the patch can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/fq00-006.asp Issue ===== This patch eliminates two vulnerabilities whose only relationship is that both occur in Index Server. The first is the "Malformed Hit-Highlighting Argument" vulnerability. The ISAPI filter that implements the hit-highlighting (also known as "WebHits") functionality does not adequately constrain what files can be requested. By providing a deliberately-malformed argument in a request to hit-highlight a document, it is possible to escape the virtual directory. This would allow any file residing on the server itself, and on the same logical drive as the web root directory, to be retrieved regardless of permissions. The second vulnerability involves the error message that is returned when a user requests a non-existent Internet Data Query file. The error message provides the physical path to the web directory that was contained in the request. Although this vulnerability would not allow a malicious user to alter or view any data, it could be a valuable reconnaissance tool for mapping the file structure of a web server. Affected Software Versions ========================== - Microsoft Index Server 2.0 - Indexing Service in Windows 2000 Patch Availability ================== Index Server 2.0: - Intel: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/release.asp?ReleaseID=17727 - Alpha: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/release.asp?ReleaseID=17728 Indexing Services for Windows 2000: - Intel: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/release.asp?ReleaseID=17726 NOTE: Additional security patches are available at the Microsoft Download Center More Information ================ Please see the following references for more information related to this issue. - Frequently Asked Questions: Microsoft Security Bulletin MS00-006, http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/fq00-006.asp. - Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) article Q251170, Malformed Argument in Hit-Highlighting Request Allows Access to Web Server Files, http://www.microsoft.com/technet/support/kb.asp?ID=251170. - Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) article Q252463, Index Server Error Message Reveals Physical Location of Web Directories, http://www.microsoft.com/technet/support/kb.asp?ID=252463. - Microsoft TechNet Security web site, http://www. microsoft.com/technet/security. (Note: It may take 24 hours from the original posting of this bulletin for the above KB articles to be visible.) Obtaining Support on this Issue =============================== This is a fully supported patch. Information on contacting Microsoft Technical Support is available at http://support.microsoft.com/support/contact/default.asp. Acknowledgments =============== Microsoft thanks David Litchfield of Cerberus Information Security, Ltd (http://www.cerberus-infosec.co.uk) for reporting the "Malformed Hit-Highlighting Argument" vulnerability to us and working with us to protect customers. Revisions ========= - January 26, 2000: Bulletin Created. ---------------------------------------- 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. (c) 2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. ******************************************************************* You have received this e-mail bulletin as a result of your registration to the Microsoft Product Security Notification Service. You may unsubscribe from this e-mail notification service at any time by sending an e-mail to MICROSOFT_SECURITY-SIGNOFF-REQUESTat_private The subject line and message body are not used in processing the request, and can be anything you like. 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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Fri Apr 13 2001 - 15:31:50 PDT