[NT] Vulnerability in Microsoft Data Access Components Allows Code Execution (MS07-009)

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Vulnerability in Microsoft Data Access Components Allows Code Execution
(MS07-009)
------------------------------------------------------------------------


SUMMARY

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the ADODB.Connection
ActiveX control that is provided as part of the ActiveX Data Objects (ADO)
and that is distributed in MDAC. An attacker who successfully exploited
this vulnerability could take complete control of an affected system.

DETAILS

Affected Software:
* Microsoft Data Access Components 2.5 Service Pack 3 on Microsoft
Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 -
<http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=EF163E3E-DD3B-4429-98A4-720DA2C96464> Download the update
* Microsoft Data Access Components 2.8 Service Pack 1 on Microsoft
Windows XP Service Pack 2 -
<http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=6B0CDB65-AEF4-489F-B917-812D9F7687BD> Download the update
* Microsoft Data Access Components 2.8 on Microsoft Windows Server 2003 -

<http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=34D24335-4EC0-49E7-9E3F-787F89DD7B1D> Download the update
* Microsoft Data Access Components 2.8 on Microsoft Windows Server 2003
for Itanium-based Systems -
<http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=58322D1B-A1A8-4BA6-BA1B-6649013CC324> Download the update

Non-Affected Software:
Microsoft Data Access Components 2.8 Service Pack 2 on Microsoft Windows
XP Professional x64 Edition
Microsoft Data Access Components 2.8 Service Pack 2 on Microsoft Windows
Server 2003 Service Pack 1
Microsoft Data Access Components 2.8 Service Pack 2 on Microsoft Windows
Server 2003 with SP1 for Itanium-based Systems
Microsoft Data Access Components 2.8 Service Pack 2 on Microsoft Windows
Server 2003 x64 Edition
Windows Data Access Components 6.0 on Windows Vista

Tested Microsoft Windows Affected Components:
* Microsoft Data Access Components 2.7 Service Pack 1 when installed on
Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 -
<http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=591B0967-C8AB-4B85-A9AF-C01E8D8E3ADC> Download the update
* Microsoft Data Access Components 2.8 when installed on Microsoft
Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 -
<http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=BC864245-175A-4B55-AB4A-FB5D0E03DCFC> Download the update
* Microsoft Data Access Components 2.8 Service Pack 1 when installed on
Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 -
<http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=341859BF-8DAA-419B-88CD-E5E8EB4A5BAD> Download the update

Mitigating Factors for Microsoft Windows MDAC ActiveX Vulnerability -
CVE-2006-5559:
* In a Web-based attack scenario, an attacker would have to host a Web
site that contains a Web page that is used to exploit this vulnerability.
An attacker would have no way to force users to visit the page. Instead,
an attacker would have to persuade users to visit the Web site, typically
by getting them to click a link in an e-mail message or instant messenger
message that takes users to the attacker's Web site.

* An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain
the same user rights as the logged on user. Users whose accounts are
configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted
than users who operate with administrative user rights.

* By default, all supported versions of Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft
Outlook Express open HTML e-mail messages in the Restricted sites zone.
The Restricted sites zone helps reduce attacks that could try to exploit
this vulnerability by preventing Active Scripting and ActiveX controls
from being used when reading HTML e-mail. However, if a user clicks on a
link within an e-mail they could still be vulnerable to this issue through
the Web-based attack scenario.

* By default, Internet Explorer on Windows Server 2003 runs in a
restricted mode that is known as Enhanced Security Configuration. This
mode sets the security level for the Internet zone to High. This is a
mitigating factor for Web sites that have not been added to Internet
Explorer Trusted sites zone. See the FAQ section of this security update
for more information about Internet Explorer Enhanced Security
Configuration.

Workarounds for Microsoft Windows MDAC ActiveX Vulnerability -
CVE-2006-5559:
Microsoft has tested the following workarounds. Although these workarounds
will not correct the underlying vulnerability, they help block known
attack vectors. When a workaround reduces functionality, it is identified
in the following section.

* Prevent the ADODB.Connection ActiveX Control from running in Internet
Explorer

Warning If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious
problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system.
Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from
using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

1. Save the following text to a .reg file and then run it on the
vulnerable client.
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX
Compatibility\{00000514-0000-0010-8000-00AA006D2EA4}]
Compatibility Flags=dword:00000400

2. You can apply this .reg file to individual systems by double-clicking
it. You can also apply it across domains by using Group Policy. For more
information about Group Policy, visit the following Microsoft Web sites:

Group Policy collection
What is Group Policy Object Editor?
Core Group Policy tools and settings

Impact of Workaround: Disables some MDAC functionality from within
Internet Explorer.

To Rollback:
Remove the above registry entry from the registry.

* Unregister the ADO ActiveX controls
Warning If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious
problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system.
Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from
using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

* At the command prompt run the following:
regsvr32 -u "%CommonProgramFiles%\System\ado\msado15.dll

Impact of Workaround: This will likely break lots of MDAC functionality,
more intrusive than the killbit above.
To Rollback:
At the command prompt run the following:
regsvr32 "%CommonProgramFiles%\System\ado\msado15.dll

Configure Internet Explorer to prompt before running ActiveX Controls or
disable ActiveX Controls in the Internet and Local intranet security zone

You can help protect against this vulnerability by changing your Internet
Explorer settings to prompt before running ActiveX controls. To do this,
follow these steps:

1. In Internet Explorer, click Internet Options on the Tools menu.
2. Click the Security tab.
3. Click Internet, and then click Custom Level.
4. Under Settings, in the ActiveX controls and plug-ins section, under Run
ActiveX controls and plug-ins, click Prompt or Disable, and then click OK.
5. Click Local intranet, and then click Custom Level.
6. Under Settings, in the ActiveX controls and plug-ins section, under Run
ActiveX controls and plug-ins, click Prompt or Disable, and then click OK.
7. Click OK two times to return to Internet Explorer.

Impact of Workaround: There are side effects to prompting before running
ActiveX controls. Many Web sites that are on the Internet or on an
intranet use ActiveX to provide additional functionality. For example, an
online e-commerce site or banking site may use ActiveX controls to provide
menus, ordering forms, or even account statements. Prompting before
running ActiveX controls is a global setting that affects all Internet and
intranet sites. You will be prompted frequently when you enable this
workaround. For each prompt, if you feel you trust the site that you are
visiting, click Yes to run ActiveX controls. If you do not want to be
prompted for all these sites, use the steps outlined in "Add sites that
you trust to the Internet Explorer Trusted sites zone .

* Add sites that you trust to the Internet Explorer Trusted sites zone.

After you set Internet Explorer to require a prompt before it runs ActiveX
controls and Active Scripting in the Internet zone and in the Local
intranet zone, you can add sites that you trust to the Internet Explorer
Trusted sites zone. This will allow you to continue to use trusted Web
sites exactly as you do today, while helping to protect you from this
attack on untrusted sites. We recommend that you add only sites that you
trust to the Trusted sites zone.

To do this, follow these steps:
1. In Internet Explorer, click Tools, click Internet Options, and then
click the Security tab.
2. In the Select a Web content zone to specify its current security
settings box, click Trusted Sites, and then click Sites.
3. If you want to add sites that do not require an encrypted channel,
click to clear the Require server verification (https:) for all sites in
this zone check box.
4. In the Add this Web site to the zone box, type the URL of a site that
you trust, and then click Add.
5. Repeat these steps for each site that you want to add to the zone.
6. Click OK two times to accept the changes and return to Internet
Explorer.

Note Add any sites that you trust not to take malicious action on your
computer. Two in particular that you may want to add are
"*.windowsupdate.microsoft.com" and *.update.microsoft.com (without the
quotation marks). These are the sites that will host the update, and it
requires an ActiveX Control to install the update.

* Set Internet and Local intranet security zone settings to High to
prompt before running ActiveX Controls and Active Scripting in these zones

You can help protect against this vulnerability by changing your settings
for the Internet security zone to prompt before running ActiveX controls.
You can do this by setting your browser security to High.

To raise the browsing security level in Microsoft Internet Explorer,
follow these steps:
1. On the Internet Explorer Tools menu, click Internet Options.
2. In the Internet Options dialog box, click the Security tab, and then
click the Internet icon.
3. Under Security level for this zone, move the slider to High. This sets
the security level for all Web sites you visit to High.

Note If no slider is visible, click Default Level, and then move the
slider to High.

Note Setting the level to High may cause some Web sites to work
incorrectly. If you have difficulty using a Web site after you change this
setting, and you are sure the site is safe to use, you can add that site
to your list of trusted sites. This will allow the site to work correctly
even with the security setting set to High.

Impact of Workaround: There are side effects to prompting before running
ActiveX controls. Many Web sites that are on the Internet or on an
intranet use ActiveX to provide additional functionality. For example, an
online e-commerce site or banking site may use ActiveX controls to provide
menus, ordering forms, or even account statements. Prompting before
running ActiveX controls is a global setting that affects all Internet and
intranet sites. You will be prompted frequently when you enable this
workaround. For each prompt, if you feel you trust the site that you are
visiting, click Yes to run ActiveX controls. If you do not want to be
prompted for all these sites, use the steps outlined in "Add sites that
you trust to the Internet Explorer Trusted sites zone .

* Add sites that you trust to the Internet Explorer Trusted sites zone.

After you set Internet Explorer to require a prompt before it runs ActiveX
controls and Active Scripting in the Internet zone and in the Local
intranet zone, you can add sites that you trust to the Internet Explorer
Trusted sites zone. This will allow you to continue to use trusted Web
sites exactly as you do today, while helping to protect you from this
attack on untrusted sites. We recommend that you add only sites that you
trust to the Trusted sites zone.

To do this, follow these steps:

1. In Internet Explorer, click Tools, click Internet Options, and then
click the Security tab.
2. In the Select a Web content zone to specify its current security
settings box, click Trusted Sites, and then click Sites.
3. If you want to add sites that do not require an encrypted channel,
click to clear the Require server verification (https:) for all sites in
this zone check box.
4. In the Add this Web site to the zone box, type the URL of a site that
you trust, and then click Add.
5. Repeat these steps for each site that you want to add to the zone.
6. Click OK two times to accept the changes and return to Internet
Explorer.

Note Add any sites that you trust not to take malicious action on your
computer. Two in particular that you may want to add are
"*.windowsupdate.microsoft.com" and *.update.microsoft.com (without the
quotation marks). These are the sites that will host the update, and it
requires an ActiveX Control to install the update.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The information has been provided by Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-009.
The original article can be found at:
<http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms07-009.mspx>
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms07-009.mspx



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