Overview
The NetBIOS Name Service (NBNS) provides a means for hostname and address mapping on a NetBIOS-aware network. The NetBIOS over TCP/IP protocols (including NBNS) are described in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Request for Comments RFC1001 and RFC1002. These protocols do not specify a method for authenticating communications, and as such, machines running NetBIOS services are vulnerable to spoofing attacks.
NetBIOS is a set of defined software interfaces for vendor-independent PC networking and is primarily used on Microsoft Windows computers. NetBIOS is enabled by default on Windows95 and Windows98 machines.
Description
An attacker sending spoofed "Name Release" or "Name Conflict" messages to a victim machine could force the victim to remove its own (legitimate) name from its name table and not respond to (or initiate) other NetBIOS requests. This renders the victim unable to communicate with other NetBIOS hosts, thus resulting in a denial-of-service attack. |
Impact
An attacker can cause a victim's machine to refuse all NetBIOS network traffic, resulting in a denial of service. |
Solution
Block NetBIOS services at the the network perimeter. NetBIOS services include
Note that this prevents external hosts from sending NetBIOS Name Service traffic to internal machines, but it does not prevent local users from exploiting this vulnerability. Furthermore, the CERT/CC recommends that sites, even those which do not use NetBIOS services, block all ports unless they are explicitly needed.
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/fq00-047.asp Note that no patch is being furnished for Win9x systems; Microsoft has publicly stated that patching these systems to disable name conflict resolution would cause more problems than it would help prevent, especially in networks with large numbers of Win9x systems.
http://www.microsoft.com/WINDOWS2000/library/planning/security/ipsecsteps.asp http://www.microsoft.com/WINDOWS2000/library/howitworks/security/ip_security.asp |
Related Documentation RFC 1001, "Protocol Standard for a NetBIOS Service on a TCP/UDP Transport: Concepts and Methods": RFC1002, "Protocol Standard for a NetBIOS Service on a TCP/UDP Transport: Detailed Specifications": |
Vendor Information
CVSS Metrics
| Group | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|
| Base | ||
| Temporal | ||
| Environmental |
References
- http://pr0n.newhackcity.net/~sd/nbname.html
- http://pr0n.newhackcity.net/~sd/netbios.html
- http://www.cultdeadcow.com
- http://www.cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2000-0673
- http://www.defcon.org
- http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2000/0731/web-defcon-08-02-00.asp
- http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1001.txt
- http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1002.txt
- http://www.ietf.org/html.charters/ipsec-charter.html
- http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms00-047.asp
- http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/fq00-047.asp
- http://www.microsoft.com/TechNet/security/ipsecimp.asp
- http://www.pgp.com/research/covert/advisories/044.asp
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/1514
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/1515
- http://www.securityfocus.com/tools/1670
Acknowledgements
This document was written by Jeffrey P. Lanza and Chad Dougherty.
Other Information
| CVE IDs: | CVE-2000-0673 |
| Severity Metric: | 8.10 |
| Date Public: | 2000-07-27 |
| Date First Published: | 2000-09-26 |
| Date Last Updated: | 2000-11-29 16:44 UTC |
| Document Revision: | 8 |