Buffer Overrun in Windows Kernel Message Handling New

A security vulnerability exists in the way the Windows kernel passes error messages to a debugger which could allow a local attacker to take any action on the system with full administrative privileges.

Issue

There is a flaw in the way the kernel passes error messages to a debugger. A vulnerability results because an attacker could write a program to exploit this flaw and run code of their choice. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to take any action on the system including deleting data, adding accounts with administrative access, or reconfiguring the system.

For an attack to be successful, an attacker would need to be able to logon interactively to the system, either at the console or through a terminal session. Also, a successful attack would require the introduction of code in order to exploit this vulnerability. Because best practices recommends restricting the ability to logon interactively on servers, this issue most directly affects client systems and terminal servers.

Affected Products

• Microsoft Windows NT 4.0
• Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Server, Terminal Server Edition
• Microsoft Windows 2000
• Microsoft Windows XP

Download

Software patches are available from the following locations:

• Microsoft Windows NT 4.0
• Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server Edition
• Microsoft Windows 2000
• Microsoft Windows XP

Further Details

Source: Microsoft Corporation

Reference: Microsoft Corporation

Updated: April 23, 2003

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