__________________________________________________________ The U.S. Department of Energy Computer Incident Advisory Capability ___ __ __ _ ___ / | /_\ / \___ __|__ / \ \___ __________________________________________________________ INFORMATION BULLETIN Microsoft Access Snapshot Viewer Buffer Overrun Vulnerability [Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-038] September 3, 2003 21:00 GMT Number N-145 ______________________________________________________________________________ PROBLEM: By using Microsoft Access Snapshot Viewer, information in a Microsoft Access database can be shared with users that don't have Microsoft Access installed. A vulnerability exists in the Snapshot Viewer where parameter validations are not correctly checked allowing for a buffer overrun. SOFTWARE: Microsoft Access 97 Microsoft Access 2000 Microsoft Access 2002 DAMAGE: In the security context of the logged on user, an attacker could execute arbitrary code of their choice because of an unchecked buffer in the ActiveX control that Microsoft Access Snapshot Viewer uses. SOLUTION: Apply the appropriate Microsoft patch as described in their bulletin. ______________________________________________________________________________ VULNERABILITY The risk is MEDIUM. Microsoft Access Snapshot Viewer is not ASSESSMENT: installed by default. A user would have to be enticed to visit a malicious website hosted by the attacker where the web page could invoke control over the user's system. ______________________________________________________________________________ LINKS: CIAC BULLETIN: http://www.ciac.org/ciac/bulletins/n-145.shtml ORIGINAL BULLETIN: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url =/technet/security/bulletin/MS03-038.asp ______________________________________________________________________________ [***** Start Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-038 *****] Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-038 Unchecked buffer in Microsoft Access Snapshot Viewer Could Allow Code Execution (827104) Originally posted: September 3, 2003 Summary Who should read this bulletin: Customers who use Microsoft® Access or who use the downloadable Microsoft Access Snapshot Viewer Impact of vulnerability: Allow an attacker to execute code of their choice Maximum Severity Rating: Moderate Recommendation: Customers who use Microsoft Access or who use the downloadable Microsoft Access Snapshot Viewer should install the security patch at their earliest opportunity. End User Bulletin: An end user version of this bulletin is available at: http://www.microsoft.com/security/security_bulletins/ms03-038.asp. Affected Software: Microsoft Access 97 Microsoft Access 2000 Microsoft Access 2002 Technical details Technical description: With Microsoft Access Snapshot Viewer, you can distribute a snapshot of a Microsoft Access database that allows the snapshot to be viewed without having Access installed. For example, a customer may want to send a supplier an invoice that is generated by using an Access database. With Microsoft Access Snapshot Viewer, the customer can package the database so that the supplier can view it and print it without having Access installed. The Microsoft Access Snapshot Viewer is available with all versions of Access - though it is not installed by default - and is also available as a separate stand-alone download. The Snapshot Viewer is implemented by using an ActiveX control. A vulnerability exists because of a flaw in the way that Snapshot Viewer validates parameters. Because the parameters are not correctly checked, a buffer overrun can occur, which could allow an attacker to execute the code of their choice in the security context of the logged-on user. For an attack to be successful, an attacker would have to persuade a user to visit a malicious Web site that is under the attacker’s control. Mitigating factors: The Microsoft Access Snapshot Viewer is not installed with Microsoft Office by default. An attacker would need to persuade a user to visit a website under the attacker’s control for an attack to be successful. An attacker’s code would run with the same permissions as the user. If a user’s permissions were restricted the attacker would be similarly restricted. Severity Rating: Microsoft Access (all versions) Moderate The above assessment is based on the types of systems affected by the vulnerability, their typical deployment patterns, and the effect that exploiting the vulnerability would have on them. Vulnerability identifier: CAN-2003-0665 Tested Versions: Microsoft tested Access 2002, Access 2000, and Access 97 to assess whether they are affected by this vulnerability. Previous versions are no longer supported and may or may not be affected by this vulnerability. Patch availability Download locations for this patch Access 2002: http://microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId= B50D4863-1BBE-4009-9DF8-52D3A916D54F&displaylang=en http://microsoft.com/office/ork/xp/journ/snpv1001a.htm (administrative update only) Access 2000: http://microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId= F6CB9C8E-16E3-422D-86DD-7ED5671FB8D4&displaylang=en. http://microsoft.com/office/ork/2000/journ/snpv0901.htm (administrative update only) Access 97: Install the updated stand-alone Snapshot Viewer control. To do so, visit the following Microsoft Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/AccessDev/Articles/snapshot.htm Stand-alone Snapshot Viewer Control: http://www.microsoft.com/AccessDev/Articles/snapshot.htm Additional information about this patch Installation platforms: The Microsoft Access 2002 patch can be installed on systems running Microsoft Access 2002 with Office XP Service Pack 2 (The administrative update can be installed on systems running Office XP Service Pack 1 as well). The Microsoft Access 2000 patch can be installed on systems running Microsoft Access 2000 with Office 2000 Service Pack 3. The updated updated stand-alone Snapshot Viewer control can be installed on all supported systems. Inclusion in future service packs: The fix for this issue will be included in any future service packs that are released for the affected products. Reboot needed: No Patch can be uninstalled: No Superseded patches: None. Verifying patch installation: For all versions of Access, verify that the version number of the Snapview.ocx file is 10.0.5529.0. Caveats: None Localization: Localized versions of this patch are available at the locations discussed in “Patch Availability”. Obtaining other security patches: Patches for other security issues are available from the following locations: Security patches are available from the Microsoft Download Center, and can be most easily found by doing a keyword search for "security_patch". Patches for consumer platforms are available from the WindowsUpdate web site Other information: Acknowledgments Microsoft thanks Oliver Lavery for reporting this issue to us and working with us to protect customers. Support: Microsoft Knowledge Base article 827104 discusses this issue and will be available approximately 24 hours after the release of this bulletin. Knowledge Base articles can be found on the Microsoft Online Support web site. Technical support is available from Microsoft Product Support Services. There is no charge for support calls associated with security patches. Security Resources: The Microsoft TechNet Security Web Site provides additional information about security in Microsoft products. Disclaimer: 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. In no event shall Microsoft Corporation or its suppliers be liable for any damages whatsoever including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, loss of business profits or special damages, even if Microsoft Corporation or its suppliers have been advised of the possibility of such damages. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages so the foregoing limitation may not apply. Revisions: V1.0 (September 3, 2003): Bulletin published. [***** End Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-038 *****] _______________________________________________________________________________ CIAC wishes to acknowledge the contributions of Microsoft Corp. 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. CIAC is also a founding member of FIRST, the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams, a global organization established to foster cooperation and coordination among computer security teams worldwide. CIAC services are available to DOE, DOE contractors, and the NIH. CIAC can be contacted at: Voice: +1 925-422-8193 (7x24) FAX: +1 925-423-8002 STU-III: +1 925-423-2604 E-mail: ciac@ciac.org Previous CIAC notices, anti-virus software, and other information are available from the CIAC Computer Security Archive. World Wide Web: http://www.ciac.org/ Anonymous FTP: ftp.ciac.org PLEASE NOTE: Many users outside of the DOE, ESnet, and NIH computing communities receive CIAC bulletins. If you are not part of these communities, please contact your agency's response team to report incidents. Your agency's team will coordinate with CIAC. The Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST) is a world-wide organization. A list of FIRST member organizations and their constituencies can be obtained via WWW at http://www.first.org/. This document was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor the University of California nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation or favoring by the United States Government or the University of California. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or the University of California, and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes. 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