Vulnerability Note VU#610986

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.

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

Impact

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

Solution

Apply a patch.

Systems Affected (Learn More)

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

If you are a vendor and your product is affected, let us know.

CVSS Metrics (Learn More)

Group	Score	Vector
Base	N/A	N/A
Temporal	N/A	N/A
Environmental	N/A	N/A

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

• CVE IDs: CAN-2003-0003
• CERT Advisory: CA-2003-03
• Date Public: 22 Jan 2003
• Date First Published: 23 Jan 2003
• Date Last Updated: 23 Jan 2003
• Severity Metric: 41.77
• Document Revision: 20