Vulnerability Note VU#610986

Microsoft Locator service contains buffer overflow

Overview

A remotely exploitable buffer overflow exists in the Microsoft Locator service. This vulnerability may allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable system.

I. Description

The Microsoft Locator service "maps logical names to network-specific names". Quoting from MS03-001:

The Microsoft Locator service is a name service that maps logical names to network-specific names. It ships with Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, and Windows XP. By default, the Locator service is enabled only on Windows 2000 domain controllers and Windows NT 4.0 domain controllers; it is not enabled on Windows NT 4.0 workstations or member servers, Windows 2000 workstations or member servers, or Windows XP.

By sending an overly large request to the Locator service, a remote attacker may be able to execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable system.

The Locator service is enabled by default on Windows 2000 domain controllers and Windows NT 4.0 domain controllers.

The Locator service is not enabled by default on the following platforms:

Windows NT 4.0 (Workstations and Member Servers)
Windows 2000 (Workstations and Member Servers)
Windows XP

II. Impact

A remote attacker may be able to execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable system.

III. Solution

Apply a patch.

Systems Affected

Vendor	Status	Date Notified	Date Updated
Microsoft Corporation	Vulnerable	23-Jan-2003

References

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/rpc/rpc/using_microsoft_locator.asp
http://www.microsoft.com/security/security_bulletins/ms03-001.asp
http://www.nextgenss.com/

Credit

Thanks to Microsoft for providing MS03-001, upon which this document is based. This vulnerability was discovered by David Litchfield of Next Generation Security Software Ltd.

This document was written by Ian A Finlay.

Other Information

Date Public:	2003-01-22
Date First Published:	2003-01-23
Date Last Updated:	2003-01-23
CERT Advisory:	CA-2003-03
CVE-ID(s):	CAN-2003-0003
NVD-ID(s):	CAN-2003-0003
US-CERT Technical Alerts:
Metric:	41.77
Document Revision:	20

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