Allaire Security Bulletin (ASB00-09) - Microsoft has released a procedure to eliminate a security vulnerability that could allow a malicious user to cause a web server to crash, or potentially run arbitrary code on the server, if certain permissions have been changed from their default settings to inappropriate ones. This is not a problem with ColdFusion Server itself, but it is an issue that can affect ColdFusion users. Allaire recommends that customers follow the instructions posted on the Microsoft Web site to address this issue.
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Allaire Security Bulletin (ASB00-09)
Microsoft Internet Information Server Procedure Available to Eliminate "Link View
Server-Side Component" Vulnerability
Originally Posted: April 24, 2000
Last Updated: April 24, 2000
Summary
Microsoft has released a procedure to eliminate a security vulnerability that could allow a
malicious user to cause a web server to crash, or potentially run arbitrary code on the server, if
certain permissions have been changed from their default settings to inappropriate ones. This is
not a problem with ColdFusion Server itself, but it is an issue that can affect ColdFusion users.
Allaire recommends that customers follow the instructions posted on the Microsoft Web site to
address this issue.
Issue
This issue is clearly explained in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: "Dvwssr.dll is a server-side
component used to support the Link View feature in Visual Interdev 1.0. However, it contains
an unchecked buffer. If overrun with random data, it could be used to cause an affected server
to crash, or could allow arbitrary code to run on the server in a System context."
Further: "By default, the affected component, Dvwssr.dll, resides in a folder whose permissions
only allow web authors to execute it. Under these conditions, only a person with web author
privileges could exploit the vulnerability - but a web author already has the ability to upload and
execute code of his choice, so this case represents little additional threat. However, if the
permissions on the folder were set inappropriately, or the .dll were copied to a folder with lower
permissions, it could be possible for other users to execute the component and exploit the
vulnerability."
Affected Software Versions
Any ColdFusion Server running on Microsoft Internet Information Server 4.0 or 5.0
What Allaire is Doing
This is not an Allaire product. We are recommending that customers reference the information
at Microsoft's site to address this issue.
What Customers Should Do
There are patches to correct this problem. These are detailed in the following Microsoft Security
Bulletin (MS00-025):
https://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms00-025.asp
Please note: this issue and patch may not be required for all IIS users. Allaire customers
should review all material in the Microsoft Security Bulletin and related documents
carefully before applying the patch. As always, customers should test patch changes in
a testing environment before modifying production servers.
Revisions
April 24, 2000 -- Bulletin first created.
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