O-002: Microsoft Internet Explorer Cumulative Patch

[***** Start Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-040 *****]

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-040    

Cumulative Patch for Internet Explorer (828750)
Originally posted: October 3, 2003

Summary

Who should read this bulletin: Users running Microsoft Internet Explorer. 

Impact of vulnerability: Run code of attacker’s choice. 

Maximum Severity Rating: Critical 

Recommendation: Customers should apply the patch immediately.

End User Bulletin:
An end user version of this bulletin is available at: 

http://www.microsoft.com/security/security_bulletins/ms03-040.asp 

Protect your PC:
Additional information on how you can help protect your PC is available at the following locations: 

End Users can visit http://www.microsoft.com/protect 
IT Professionals can visit http://www.microsoft.com/technet/protect 


Affected Software: 

Internet Explorer 5.01 
Internet Explorer 5.5 
Internet Explorer 6.0 
Internet Explorer 6.0 for Windows Server 2003 


Technical details

Technical description: 

This is a cumulative patch that includes the functionality of all previously released patches for 
Internet Explorer 5.01, 5.5 and 6.0. In addition, it eliminates the following newly discovered 
vulnerabilities:

A vulnerability that occurs because Internet Explorer does not properly determine an object type 
returned from a Web server in a popup window. It could be possible for an attacker who exploited this 
vulnerability to run arbitrary code on a user's system. If a user visited an attacker's Web site, it 
could be possible for the attacker to exploit this vulnerability without any other user action. An 
attacker could also craft an HTML–based e-mail that would attempt to exploit this vulnerability. 
A vulnerability that occurs because Internet Explorer does not properly determine an object type 
returned from a Web server during XML data binding. It could be possible for an attacker who exploited 
this vulnerability to run arbitrary code on a user's system. If a user visited an attacker's Web site, 
it could be possible for the attacker to exploit this vulnerability without any other user action. An 
attacker could also craft an HTML–based e-mail that would attempt to exploit this vulnerability.


In addition, a change has been made to the method by which Internet Explorer handles Dynamic HTML (DHTML) 
Behaviors in the Internet Explorer Restricted Zone. It could be possible for an attacker exploiting a 
separate vulnerability (such as one of the two vulnerabilities discussed above) to cause Internet Explorer 
to run script code in the security context of the Internet Zone. In addition, an attacker could use Windows 
Media Player’s (WMP) ability to open URLs to construct an attack. An attacker could also craft an HTML-
based e-mail that could attempt to exploit this behavior.

To exploit these flaws, the attacker would have to create a specially formed HTML–based e-mail and send 
it to the user. Alternatively an attacker would have to host a malicious Web site that contained a Web 
page designed to exploit these vulnerabilities. 

As with the previous Internet Explorer cumulative patches released with bulletins MS03-004, MS03-015, 
MS03-020, and MS03-032, this cumulative patch will cause window.showHelp( ) to cease to function if you 
have not applied the HTML Help update. If you have installed the updated HTML Help control from Knowledge 
Base article 811630, you will still be able to use HTML Help functionality after applying this patch. 

In addition to applying this security patch it is recommended that users also install the Windows Media 
Player update referenced in Knowledge Base Article 828026. This update is available from Windows Update 
as well as the Microsoft Download Center for all supported versions of Windows Media Player. While not a 
security patch, this update contains a change to the behavior of Windows Media Player’s ability to launch 
URLs to help protect against DHTML behavior based attacks. Specifically, it restricts Windows Media 
Player’s ability to launch URLs in the local computer zone from other zones.


Mitigating factors:

By default, Internet Explorer on Windows Server 2003 runs in Enhanced Security Configuration. This 
default configuration of Internet Explorer blocks automatic exploitation of this attack. If Internet 
Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration has been disabled, the protections put in place that prevent 
this vulnerability from being automatically exploited would be removed. 
In the Web-based attack scenario, the attacker would have to host a Web site that contained a Web 
page used to exploit this vulnerability. 
Exploiting the vulnerability would allow the attacker only the same privileges as the user. Users 
whose accounts are configured to have user level privileges on the system would be at less risk than ones 
who operate with administrative privileges. 


Severity Rating:

                                                                                 Internet
 		 Internet     Internet    Internet    Internet    Internet  Explorer 6.0 for	
		 Explorer     Explorer    Explorer    Explorer    Explorer       Windows
		 5.01 SP3     5.01 SP4    5.5 SP2     6.0 Gold    6.0 SP1      Server 2003                                                       Windows 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
   Object Tag  
vulnerability in   Critical     Critical    Critical    Critical    Critical      Moderate 
  Popup Window
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
   Object Tag 
vulnerability with Critical     Critical    Critical    Critical    Critical      Moderate 
XML data binding 		
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Aggregate Severity 
  of all issues
 included in this  Critical     Critical 	 Critical    Critical    Critical    Moderate 
      patch
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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:

Object Tag vulnerability in Popup Window: CAN-2003-0838 
Object Tag vulnerability with XML data binding: CAN-2003-0809

 
Tested Versions:
Microsoft tested Internet Explorer versions 5.01 Service Pack 3, Internet Explorer 5.01 Service Pack 4, 
Internet Explorer 5.5 Service pack 2, Internet Explorer 6.0 and Internet Explorer 6.0 Service Pack 1 to 
assess whether they are affected by these vulnerabilities. Previous versions are no longer supported, 
and may or may not be affected by these vulnerabilities.


Additional information about this patch

Installation platforms: 
The patch can be installed on:

Internet Explorer 5.01 running on Windows 2000 systems with Service Pack 3 or Service Pack 4 installed.
 
The Internet Explorer 5.5 patch can be installed on systems running Internet Explorer 5.5 Service Pack 2.
 
The Internet Explorer 6.0 patch can be installed on systems running IE 6.0 Gold or Internet Explorer 6.0 
Service Pack 1. 


Inclusion in future service packs:
The fix for these issues will be included in Windows 2000 Service Pack 5, Windows XP Service Pack 2 and 
Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1. 

Reboot needed: Yes - After reboot, an administrator logon is required for: 

Internet Explorer 5.01 on Microsoft Windows 2000 and Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 
Internet Explorer 5.5 on Microsoft Windows 2000 

Patch can be uninstalled: Yes. 

Superseded patches: This patch supersedes the one provided in Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-032 
which is itself a cumulative patch. 

Verifying patch installation: 

To verify that the patch has been installed on the machine, open Internet Explorer, select Help, then 
select About Internet Explorer and confirm that Q828750 is listed in the Update Versions field. 
Note that you can not use this method on Windows Server 2003 or Windows XP 64-Bit Edition Version 2003, as 
the Update Versions field is not updated by the package for these operating systems. 
To verify the individual files, use the patch manifest provided in Knowledge Base article 828750. 

Caveats:
If you have not installed the updated HTML Help control from Knowledge Base article 811630, you will not 
be able to use some HTML Help functionality after applying this update. In order to restore that 
functionality, users need to download the updated HTML Help control (811630). Users should also note that 
when the latest version of HTML Help is installed, the following limitations will occur when a help file 
is opened with the showHelp method: 

Only supported protocols can be used with showHelp to open a web page or help (.chm) file. 
The shortcut function supported by HTML Help will be disabled when the help file is opened with 
showHelp This will not affect the shortcut functionality if the same CHM file is opened by the user 
manually by double-clicking on the help file, or by through an application on the local system using the 
HTMLHELP( ) API.
 

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: 

Support: 

Microsoft Knowledge Base article 828750 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 (October 3, 2003): Bulletin Created. 


[***** End Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-040 *****]

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