__________________________________________________________ The U.S. Department of Energy Computer Incident Advisory Capability ___ __ __ _ ___ / | /_\ / \___ __|__ / \ \___ __________________________________________________________ INFORMATION BULLETIN Windows NT 4.0 does not delete Unattended Installation File October 13, 1999 17:00 GMT Number K-003 ______________________________________________________________________________ PROBLEM: When an unattended installation of Microsoft® Windows NT® 4.0 completes, a copy of the file that contains installation parameters remains on the hard drive. Depending on the method that was used to perform the installation and the specific installation parameters that were selected, the file could contain sensitive information, potentially including the local Administrator password. PLATFORM: Windows NT 4.0 DAMAGE: It depends on the information provided by the installation parameter file. If sensitive information such as account names and passwords are provided, it could allow the accounts to be compromised. By default, any user who can interactively log onto the machine can read the installation parameters file. SOLUTION: Anyone performing an unattended installation should review the installation parameter file and erase any sensitive information contained in it or delete the file after the installation completes. ______________________________________________________________________________ VULNERABILITY The risk is low. An administrator would have to install Windows ASSESSMENT: NT in unattended mode and include sensitive information, such as passwords and account names in the parameter file. ______________________________________________________________________________ [ Start Microsoft Advisory ] Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS99-036) -------------------------------------- Windows NT 4.0 Does Not Delete Unattended Installation File Originally Posted: September 10, 1999 Summary ======= When an unattended installation of Windows NT 4.0 completes, a copy of the file that contains installation parameters remains on the hard drive. Depending on the method that was to perform the installation and the specific installation parameters that were selected, the file could contain sensitive information, potentially including the local Administrator password. Frequently asked questions regarding this vulnerability can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/security/bulletins/MS99-036faq.asp Issue ===== When an unattended installation of Windows NT 4.0 is performed, the installation parameters are included in a file named Unattend.txt. A vulnerability exists because the installation process copies the parameter file to a file in %windir%\system32 ($winnt$.inf for a normal unattended installation, or $nt4pre$.inf if Sysprep was used) but does not delete it when the installation completes. By default, this file can be read by any user who can perform an interactive logon. If sensitive information such as account passwords were provided in the installation parameters file, the information could be compromised. As discussed in the FAQ, the degree of risk from this vulnerability varies depending on the particular installation. However, in general, workstations and terminal servers deployed using the Sysprep tool would be at greatest risk from it. Affected Software Versions ========================== - Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 - Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 - Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0, Enterprise Edition - Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition Resolution ========== Customers performing unattended installations of Windows NT 4.0 should ensure that they either review the file and erase any sensitive information such as account information and passwords, or delete the file altogether. Knowledge Base article Q241048 discusses one way to delete the file, via the RunOnce registry key. More Information ================ Please see the following references for more information related to this issue. - Microsoft Security Bulletin MS99-036: Frequently Asked Questions, http://www.microsoft.com/security/bulletins/MS99-036faq.asp. - Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) article Q241048, Answer file for System Preperation Tool is not removed after completion, http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q241/0/48.asp. - System Preparation Tool, http://www.microsoft.com/ntworkstation/deploy/DeployTools/SysPrep.asp - Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) article Q173039, Unattended Setup Parameters for Unattend.txt File, http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q155/1/97.asp. - Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) article Q158484, INFO: How to Set the Administrator Password During Unattended Setup, http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q158/4/84.asp. - Microsoft Security Advisor web site, http://www.microsoft.com/security/default.asp. NOTE: It may take 24 hours from the original posting of this bulletin for the KB articles to be visible. Obtaining Support on this Issue =============================== Information on contacting Microsoft Technical Support is available at http://support.microsoft.com/support/contact/default.asp. Acknowledgments =============== Microsoft acknowledges Nets & Webs, Brisbane, Australia, for bringing this issue to our attention. Revisions ========= - September 10, 1999: Bulletin Created. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. MICROSOFT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. 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For more information on the Microsoft Security Notification Service please visit http://www.microsoft.com/security/services/bulletin.asp. For security-related information about Microsoft products, please visit the Microsoft Security Advisor web site at http://www.microsoft.com/security. [ End Microsoft Advisory ] ______________________________________________________________________________ CIAC wishes to acknowledge the contributions of Microsoft for the information contained in this bulletin. ______________________________________________________________________________ CIAC, the Computer Incident Advisory Capability, is the computer security incident response team for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the emergency backup response team for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). CIAC is located at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California. 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