MS03-013: Buffer Overrun in Windows Kernel Message Handling Could Lead to Elevated Privileges The information in this article applies to: Microsoft Windows XP Professional Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Terminal Server Edition Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 SYMPTOMS The Windows kernel is the core of the operating system. It provides system level services such as device and memory management, allocates processor time to processes, and manages error handling. There is a flaw in the way the kernel passes error messages to a debugger. This flaw causes a vulnerability. 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 have to be able to log on interactively to the system, either at the console or through a terminal session. Also, a successful attack would require the introduction of code to exploit this vulnerability. Security Best Practices resources recommend that you restrict the ability to log on interactively on servers. As a result, this issue most directly affects client systems and terminal servers. For more information about Security Best Practices resources, visit the following Microsoft Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bestprac/default.asp Mitigating Factors -A successful attack requires the ability to log on interactively to the target computer, either directly at the console or through a terminal session. -Properly secured servers are at little risk from this vulnerability. Standard best practices resources recommend that you only allow trusted administrators to log on to these kinds of systems interactively. Without these privileges, an attacker could not exploit the vulnerability. Knowledge Base Article TechNet Security Bulletin
