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FYI Ladies & Gentlemen: Just in from Microsoft.
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 (MS98-019)
--------------------------------------
Patch Available for IIS "GET" Vulnerability
Originally Posted: December 21, 1998
Summary
=======
Microsoft has released a patch that fixes a vulnerability in Microsoft(r)
Internet Information Server(r) that could allow denial-of-service attacks
to be mounted against web servers.
There have been no reports of customers being affected by this
vulnerability. However, Microsoft is publishing this bulletin and releasing
the patch to allow customers to address the potential security risk it
poses. As detailed below in What Customers Should Do, Microsoft recommends
that users evaluate whether they are at risk from this attack and install
the patch if appropriate.
Issue
=====
This vulnerability involves the HTTP GET method, which is used to obtain
information from an IIS web server. Specially-malformed GET requests can
create a denial of service situation that consumes all server resources,
causing a server to "hang." In some cases, the server can be put back into
service by stopping and restarting IIS; in others, the server may need to be
rebooted. This situation cannot happen accidentally. The malformed GET
requests must be deliberately constructed and sent to the server. It is
important to note that this vulnerability does not allow data on the server
to be compromised, nor does it allow any privileges on it to be usurped.
Affected Software Versions
==========================
- Microsoft Internet Information Server, versions 3.0 and 4.0, on x86 and
Alpha platforms.
What Microsoft is Doing
=======================
On December 21, Microsoft released a patch that fixes the problem. This
patch is available for download from the sites listed below. Please see
What Customers Should Do for additional information on the patch.
Microsoft has sent this security bulletin to customers subscribing
to the Microsoft Product Security Notification Service (see
http://www.microsoft.com/security/services/bulletin.asp for
more information about this free customer service).
Microsoft has published the following Knowledge Base (KB) article on this
issue:
- Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) article Q192296,
IIS: Patch Available for IIS "GET" Vulnerability,
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q192/2/96.asp.
(Note: It might take 24 hours from the original posting of this
bulletin for the updated KB article to be visible in the Web-based
Knowledge Base.)
Microsoft has released the following hot fixes:
- Fix for IIS 3.0 on X86 platforms:
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/iis/iis-public
/fixes/usa/security/Infget-fix/infget3i.exe
- Fix for IIS 4.0 on X86 platforms:
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/iis/iis-public
/fixes/usa/security/Infget-fix/infget4i.exe
- Fix for IIS 3.0 on Alpha platforms:
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/iis/iis-public
/fixes/usa/security/Infget-fix/infget3a.exe
- Fix for IIS 4.0 on Alpha platforms:
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/iis/iis-public
/fixes/usa/security/Infget-fix/infget4a.exe
(Note: the URLs above have been wrapped for readability)
What Customers Should Do
========================
The patch for this vulnerability is fully supported. However, it has not
been fully regression tested and should only be applied to systems
determined to be at risk of attack. A fully regression-tested version of
the patch will be available as part of the next Windows NT service pack.
Microsoft recommends that customers evaluate the degree of risk that this
vulnerability poses to their systems, based on physical accessibility,
network and Internet connectivity, and other factors, and determine whether
the appropriate course of action is to apply the patch or wait for the next
service pack.
More Information
================
Please see the following references for more information related to this
issue.
- Microsoft Security Bulletin 98-019,
Patch Available for IIS "GET" Vulnerability
(the Web-posted version of this bulletin),
http://www.microsoft.com/security/bulletins/ms98-019.asp.
- Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) article Q192296,
IIS: Patch Available for IIS "GET" Vulnerability,
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q192/2/96.asp.
(Note: It might take 24 hours from the original posting of this
bulletin for the updated KB article to be visible in the Web-based
Knowledge Base.)
Obtaining Support on this Issue
===============================
This is a supported patch. If you have problems installing
this patch or require technical assistance with this patch,
please contact Microsoft Technical Support. For information
on contacting Microsoft Technical Support, please see
http://support.microsoft.com/support/contact/default.asp.
Acknowledgements
================
Microsoft wishes to acknowledge the contribution made by
Brian Steele of Cable and Wireless Grenada, Ltd. (www.candw.com),
and Eugene Kalinin of the N. N.Burdenko Neurosurgery Institute,
who reported the problem to us.
Revisions
=========
- December 21, 1998: Bulletin Created
For additional security-related information about Microsoft products,
please visit http://www.microsoft.com/security
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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) 1998 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Terms of Use.
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please visit http://www.microsoft.com/security/bulletin.htm. For
security-related information about Microsoft products, please visit the
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