Security Bulletin (MS00-040)

2000-06-1000:00:00

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Patch Available for "Remote Registry Access Authentication" Vulnerability

Originally posted: June 08, 2000

Summary

Microsoft has released a patch that eliminates a security vulnerability in
Microsoft(r) Windows NT 4.0. Under certain conditions, the vulnerability
could be used to cause a Windows NT 4.0 machine to fail.

Frequently asked questions regarding this vulnerability and
the patch can be found at
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/fq00-040.asp

Issue

Before a request to access the registry from a remote machine can be
processed, it must first be authenticated by the Remote Registry server. If
the request is malformed in a specific fashion, it could be misinterpreted
by the remote registry server, causing it to fail. Because the Remote
Registry server is contained within the winlogon.exe system process on
Windows NT 4.0, a failure in that process would cause the entire system to
fail.

Only an authenticated user could levy such a request – an anonymous (or
null-session) connection could not cause this failure. An affected machine
could be put back into service by rebooting.

Affected Software Versions

Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Workstation
Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Server
Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Server, Enterprise Edition
Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Server, Terminal Server Edition

Note: Windows 2000 is not affected by this vulnerability.

Patch Availability

Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Workstation, Server, and
Server, Enterprise Edition:
http://www.microsoft.com/Downloads/Release.asp?ReleaseID=21772
Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Server, Terminal Server Edition:
To be released shortly

Note: Additional security patches are available at the Microsoft Download
Center

More Information

Please see the following references for more information related to this
issue.

Frequently Asked Questions: Microsoft Security Bulletin MS00-040,
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/fq00-040.asp
Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q264684 discusses this issue
and will be available soon.
Microsoft TechNet Security web site,
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/default.asp

Obtaining Support on this Issue

This is a fully supported patch. Information on contacting
Microsoft Technical Support is available at
http://support.microsoft.com/support/contact/default.asp.

Acknowledgments

Microsoft thanks Renaud Deraison from the Nessus Team
(http://www.nessus.org/) for reporting this issue to us and working with us
to protect customers.

Revisions

June 08, 2000: Bulletin Created.

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Last Updated June 08, 2000