Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-040 – Important

Mitigation refers to a setting, common configuration, or general best-practice, existing in a default state, that could reduce the severity of exploitation of a vulnerability. The following mitigating factors may be helpful in your situation:

Workaround refers to a setting or configuration change that does not correct the underlying vulnerability but would help block known attack vectors before you apply the update. Microsoft has tested the following workarounds and states in the discussion whether a workaround reduces functionality:

sp_configure 'show advanced options', 1;
GO
RECONFIGURE;
GO
sp_configure 'common criteria compliance enabled', 1;
GO
RECONFIGURE
GO

sp_configure 'show advanced options', 1;
GO
RECONFIGURE;
GO
sp_configure 'common criteria compliance enabled', 0;
GO
RECONFIGURE
GO

What is the scope of the vulnerability? 
An information disclosure vulnerability exists in the way that SQL Server manages memory page reuse. An attacker with database operator access who successfully exploited this vulnerability could access customer data that the attacker would otherwise be prohibited from viewing.

What causes the vulnerability? 
The vulnerability exists in the way that SQL Server manages memory page reuse. When reallocating memory, SQL Server fails to initialize memory pages.

What might an attacker use the vulnerability to do? 
An attacker could read the contents of memory pages that contained data from another user’s session.

How could an attacker exploit the vulnerability? 
An attacker with database operator access could assemble the uninitialized memory pages from another user’s session by directing a backup to a location that the attacker controls.

What systems are primarily at risk from the vulnerability? 
Systems where SQL Server is used by untrusted parties are primarily at risk.

What does the update do? 
The update removes the vulnerability by modifying the way that SQL Server manages page reuse.

How do I clean residual data from my databases? 
The following new system stored procedure is provided to physically clean residual data from the free space area of database pages in environments where the physical security of the data or backup files is at risk:

sp_clean_db_free_space

This stored procedure removes residual information left on database pages as a result of data modification routines in SQL Server. This procedure will clean all pages in all files of the database.

sp_clean_db_free_space
@dbname = 'database_name',
 [ @cleaning_delay = 'delay_in_seconds' ]

Arguments

@dbname =  'database_name',

[ @cleaning_delay = 'delay_in_seconds' ]

The following example cleans all residual information from the AdventureWorks database.

USE Master
GO
EXEC sp_clean_db_free_space
@dbname = 'AdventureWorks';

When this security bulletin was issued, had this vulnerability been publicly disclosed? 
No. Microsoft received information about this vulnerability through responsible disclosure. Microsoft had not received any information to indicate that this vulnerability had been publicly disclosed when this security bulletin was originally issued. This security bulletin addresses the privately disclosed vulnerability as well as additional issues discovered through internal investigations.

When this security bulletin was issued, had Microsoft received any reports that this vulnerability was being exploited? 
No. Microsoft had not received any information to indicate that this vulnerability had been publicly used to attack customers and had not seen any examples of proof of concept code published when this security bulletin was originally issued.

Mitigation refers to a setting, common configuration, or general best-practice, existing in a default state that could reduce the severity of exploitation of vulnerability. The following mitigating factors may be helpful in your situation:

Workaround refers to a setting or configuration change that does not correct the underlying vulnerability but would help block known attack vectors before you apply the update. Microsoft has tested the following workarounds and states in the discussion whether a workaround reduces functionality:

What is the scope of the vulnerability? 
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in the way that SQL Server converts SQL expressions from one data type to another. This vulnerability could allow an attacker to run code and take complete control of the system. An authenticated attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full administrative rights.

What causes the vulnerability? 
The convert function in SQL Server insufficiently checks input strings. As a result, a buffer overrun could result, allowing an authenticated attacker to execute code of the attacker’s choice.

What might an attacker use the vulnerability to do? 
An authenticated attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain elevation of privilege on an affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full administrative rights.

How could an attacker exploit the vulnerability? 
An authenticated attacker could create a query that calls the convert function with a specially crafted expression, causing the function to overflow, allowing code execution.

What systems are primarily at risk from the vulnerability? 
Systems where SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 4 and Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (WMSDE) is used are primarily at risk.

What does the update do? 
The update removes the vulnerability by allocating more memory for the convert function.

When this security bulletin was issued, had this vulnerability been publicly disclosed? 
No. Microsoft received information about this vulnerability through responsible disclosure. Microsoft had not received any information to indicate that this vulnerability had been publicly disclosed when this security bulletin was originally issued. This security bulletin addresses the privately disclosed vulnerability as well as additional issues discovered through internal investigations.

When this security bulletin was issued, had Microsoft received any reports that this vulnerability was being exploited? 
No. Microsoft had not received any information to indicate that this vulnerability had been publicly used to attack customers and had not seen any examples of proof of concept code published when this security bulletin was originally issued.

Mitigation refers to a setting, common configuration, or general best-practice, existing in a default state, that could reduce the severity of exploitation of a vulnerability. The following mitigating factors may be helpful in your situation:

Workaround refers to a setting or configuration change that does not correct the underlying vulnerability but would help block known attack vectors before you apply the update. Microsoft has tested the following workarounds and states in the discussion whether a workaround reduces functionality:

What is the scope of the vulnerability? 
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in the way that SQL Server validates data structures in on-disk files. This vulnerability could allow an authenticated attacker to run code and to take complete control of the system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full administrative rights.

What causes the vulnerability? 
SQL Server fails to sufficiently validate data structures in on-disk files. As a result, a buffer overrun could result and allow an authenticated attacker to execute code of the attacker’s choice.

What might an attacker use the vulnerability to do? 
An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain elevation of privilege on an affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full administrative rights.

How could an attacker exploit the vulnerability? 
An authenticated attacker could force SQL Server to load a specially crafted file which could cause a buffer overrun, thus corrupting memory in such a way as to allow code execution.

What systems are primarily at risk from the vulnerability? 
All systems where SQL Server is used are at risk from exploitation of this vulnerability.

What does the update do? 
The update removes the vulnerability by validating on-disk files before loading.

When this security bulletin was issued, had this vulnerability been publicly disclosed? 
No. Microsoft received information about this vulnerability through responsible disclosure. Microsoft had not received any information to indicate that this vulnerability had been publicly disclosed when this security bulletin was originally issued. This security bulletin addresses the privately disclosed vulnerability as well as additional issues discovered through internal investigations.

When this security bulletin was issued, had Microsoft received any reports that this vulnerability was being exploited? 
No. Microsoft had not received any information to indicate that this vulnerability had been publicly used to attack customers and had not seen any examples of proof of concept code published when this security bulletin was originally issued.

Mitigation refers to a setting, common configuration, or general best-practice, existing in a default state, that could reduce the severity of exploitation of a vulnerability. The following mitigating factors may be helpful in your situation:

Workaround refers to a setting or configuration change that does not correct the underlying vulnerability but would help block known attack vectors before you apply the update. Microsoft has tested the following workarounds and states in the discussion whether a workaround reduces functionality:

What is the scope of the vulnerability? 
An elevation of privilege vulnerability results from the way that SQL Server manages memory in processing the insert statement. This vulnerability could allow an authenticated attacker to run code and take complete control of the system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full administrative rights.

What causes the vulnerability? 
SQL Server insufficiently checks insert statements before processing them. As a result, a buffer overrun could result and allow an authenticated attacker to execute code of the attacker’s choice.

What might an attacker use the vulnerability to do? 
An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain elevation of privilege on an affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full administrative rights.

How could an attacker exploit the vulnerability? 
An authenticated attacker could create insert statements that cause a buffer overrun, thus corrupting memory in such a way as to allow code execution.

What systems are primarily at risk from the vulnerability? 
Systems where SQL Server 2005 is used are primarily at risk.

What does the update do? 
The update removes the vulnerability by validating insert statements.

When this security bulletin was issued, had this vulnerability been publicly disclosed? 
No. Microsoft received information about this vulnerability through responsible disclosure. Microsoft had not received any information to indicate that this vulnerability had been publicly disclosed when this security bulletin was originally issued. This security bulletin addresses the privately disclosed vulnerability as well as additional issues discovered through internal investigations.

When this security bulletin was issued, had Microsoft received any reports that this vulnerability was being exploited? 
No. Microsoft had not received any information to indicate that this vulnerability had been publicly used to attack customers and had not seen any examples of proof of concept code published when this security bulletin was originally issued.

Reference Table

The following table contains the security update information for this software. You can find additional information in the subsection, Deployment Information, in this section.

Deployment Information

Installing the Update

Update files for SQL 7.0 are provided in a self-extracting executable file from the Microsoft Download Center link in the Affected Software table. Instructions for manual installation are provided in an attached README file.

Removing the Update

Update files for SQL 7.0 are provided in a self-extracting executable file from the Microsoft Download Center link in the Affected Software table. Instructions for manually uninstalling the update are provided in an attached README file.

Verifying that the Update Has Been Applied

•

Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer To verify that a security update has been applied to an affected system, you may be able to use the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) tool. See the section, Detection and Deployment Tools and Guidance, earlier in this bulletin for more information.

•

File Version Verification Because there are several versions of Microsoft Windows, the following steps may be different on your computer. If they are, see your product documentation to complete these steps. 1. Click Start, and then click Search. 2. In the Search Results pane, click All files and folders under Search Companion. 3. In the All or part of the file name box, type a file name from the appropriate file information table, and then click Search. 4. In the list of files, right-click a file name from the appropriate file information table, and then click Properties. Note Depending on the version of the operating system or programs installed, some of the files that are listed in the file information table may not be installed. 5. On the Version tab, determine the version of the file that is installed on your computer by comparing it to the version that is documented in the appropriate file information table. Note Attributes other than the file version may change during installation. Comparing other file attributes to the information in the file information table is not a supported method of verifying that the update has been applied. Also, in certain cases, files may be renamed during installation. If the file or version information is not present, use one of the other available methods to verify update installation.

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Reference Table

The following table contains the security update information for this software. You can find additional information in the subsection, Deployment Information, in this section.

Deployment Information

Installing the Update

When you install this security update, the installer checks to see if one or more of the files that are being updated on your system have previously been updated by a Microsoft hotfix.

For more information about the terminology that appears in this bulletin, such as hotfix, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 824684.

This security update supports the following setup switches.

Supported Security Update Installation Switches
Switch	Description
/help	Displays the command-line options
Setup Modes
/passive	Unattended Setup mode. No user interaction is required, but installation status is displayed. If a restart is required at the end of Setup, a dialog box will be presented to the user with a timer warning that the computer will restart in 30 seconds.
/quiet	Quiet mode. This is the same as unattended mode, but no status or error messages are displayed.
Restart Options
/norestart	Does not restart when installation has completed
/forcerestart	Restarts the computer after installation and force other applications to close at shutdown without saving open files first.
/warnrestart[:x]	Presents a dialog box with a timer warning the user that the computer will restart in x seconds. (The default setting is 30 seconds.) Intended for use with the /quiet switch or the /passive switch.
/promptrestart	Display a dialog box prompting the local user to allow a restart
Special Options
/overwriteoem	Overwrites OEM files without prompting
/nobackup	Does not back up files needed for uninstall
/forceappsclose	Forces other programs to close when the computer shuts down
/log:path	Allows the redirection of installation log files
/integrate:path	Integrates the update into the Windows source files. These files are located at the path that is specified in the switch.
/allinstances	Applies update to all instances
/InstanceName={instance}	Applies update to specified instance

Note You can combine these switches into one command. For backward compatibility, the security update also supports many of the setup switches that the earlier version of the Setup program uses. For more information about the supported installation switches, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 262841. For more information about the Update.exe installer, visit the Microsoft TechNet Web site.

Removing the Update

This security update supports the following setup switches.

Supported Spuninst.exe Switches
Switch	Description
/help	Displays the command-line options
Setup Modes
/passive	Unattended Setup mode. No user interaction is required, but installation status is displayed. If a restart is required at the end of Setup, a dialog box will be presented to the user with a timer warning that the computer will restart in 30 seconds.
/quiet	Quiet mode. This is the same as unattended mode, but no status or error messages are displayed.
Restart Options
/norestart	Does not restart when installation has completed
/forcerestart	Restarts the computer after installation and force other applications to close at shutdown without saving open files first.
/warnrestart[:x]	Presents a dialog box with a timer warning the user that the computer will restart in x seconds. (The default setting is 30 seconds.) Intended for use with the /quiet switch or the /passive switch.
/promptrestart	Display a dialog box prompting the local user to allow a restart
Special Options
/forceappsclose	Forces other programs to close when the computer shuts down
/log:path	Allows the redirection of installation log files
/allinstances	Applies update to all instances
/InstanceName={instance}	Applies update to specified instance

Verifying that the Update Has Been Applied

•

Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer To verify that a security update has been applied to an affected system, you may be able to use the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) tool. See the section, Detection and Deployment Tools and Guidance, earlier in this bulletin for more information.

•

File Version Verification Because there are several versions of Microsoft Windows, the following steps may be different on your computer. If they are, see your product documentation to complete these steps. 1. Click Start, and then click Search. 2. In the Search Results pane, click All files and folders under Search Companion. 3. In the All or part of the file name box, type a file name from the appropriate file information table, and then click Search. 4. In the list of files, right-click a file name from the appropriate file information table, and then click Properties. Note Depending on the version of the operating system or programs installed, some of the files that are listed in the file information table may not be installed. 5. On the Version tab, determine the version of the file that is installed on your computer by comparing it to the version that is documented in the appropriate file information table. Note Attributes other than the file version may change during installation. Comparing other file attributes to the information in the file information table is not a supported method of verifying that the update has been applied. Also, in certain cases, files may be renamed during installation. If the file or version information is not present, use one of the other available methods to verify update installation.

Top of section

Reference Table

The following table contains the security update information for this software. You can find additional information in the subsection, Deployment Information, in this section.

Deployment Information

Installing the Update

When you install this security update, the installer checks to see if one or more of the files that are being updated on your system have previously been updated by a Microsoft hotfix.

For more information about the terminology that appears in this bulletin, such as hotfix, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 824684.

This security update supports the following setup switches.

Supported Security Update Installation Switches
Switch	Description
/?	Displays the Help dialog
/quiet	Runs Setup in quiet mode
/reportonly	Displays the features that this package can update
/allinstances	Upgrades all SQL Server instances and all shared components
/instancename	Upgrades a specific SQL Server instance and all shared components
/sapwd	Password for the SQL Server sa account to run scripts
/user	User account for connecting to a remote cluster node
/password	Password for user account for connecting to a remote cluster node
/rsupgradedatabaseaccount	User account for upgrading Reporting Services
/rsupgradepassword	Password for user account for upgrading Reporting Services
/rsupgradedatabase	Prevents the Reporting Services database from being upgraded when the parameter equals 0
/allinstances	Applies update to all instances
/InstanceName={instance}	Applies update to specified instance

Note You can combine these switches into one command. For backward compatibility, the security update also supports many of the setup switches that the earlier version of the Setup program uses. For more information about the supported installation switches, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 262841. For more information about the Update.exe installer, visit the Microsoft TechNet Web site.

Removing the Update

Example of how to remove QFE from single instance:

%windir%\SQL9_KB948108_ENU\hotfix.exe /quiet /uninstall /instancename=foo

Example of how to remove QFE from all instances:

%windir%\SQL9_KB948108_ENU\hotfix.exe /quiet /uninstall /allinstances

Verifying that the Update Has Been Applied

•

Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer To verify that a security update has been applied to an affected system, you may be able to use the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) tool. See the section, Detection and Deployment Tools and Guidance, earlier in this bulletin for more information.

•

File Version Verification Because there are several versions of Microsoft Windows, the following steps may be different on your computer. If they are, see your product documentation to complete these steps. 1. Click Start, and then click Search. 2. In the Search Results pane, click All files and folders under Search Companion. 3. In the All or part of the file name box, type a file name from the appropriate file information table, and then click Search. 4. In the list of files, right-click a file name from the appropriate file information table, and then click Properties. Note Depending on the version of the operating system or programs installed, some of the files that are listed in the file information table may not be installed. 5. On the Version tab, determine the version of the file that is installed on your computer by comparing it to the version that is documented in the appropriate file information table. Note Attributes other than the file version may change during installation. Comparing other file attributes to the information in the file information table is not a supported method of verifying that the update has been applied. Also, in certain cases, files may be renamed during installation. If the file or version information is not present, use one of the other available methods to verify update installation.

Top of section

Reference Table

The following table contains the security update information for this software. You can find additional information in the subsection, Deployment Information, in this section.

Deployment Information

Installing the Update

When you install this security update, the installer checks to see if one or more of the files that are being updated on your system have previously been updated by a Microsoft hotfix.

For more information about the terminology that appears in this bulletin, such as hotfix, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 824684.

This security update supports the following setup switches.

Supported Security Update Installation Switches
Switch	Description
/help	Displays the command-line options
Restart Options
/norestart	Does not restart when installation has completed
/forcerestart	Restarts the computer after installation and force other applications to close at shutdown without saving open files first.
/warnrestart[:x]	Presents a dialog box with a timer warning the user that the computer will restart in x seconds. (The default setting is 30 seconds.) Intended for use with the /quiet switch or the /passive switch.
/promptrestart	Display a dialog box prompting the local user to allow a restart
Special Options
/overwriteoem	Overwrites OEM files without prompting
/nobackup	Does not back up files needed for uninstall
/forceappsclose	Forces other programs to close when the computer shuts down
/log:path	Allows the redirection of installation log files
/integrate:path	Integrates the update into the Windows source files. These files are located at the path that is specified in the switch.
/extract[:path]	Extracts files without starting the Setup program
/ER	Enables extended error reporting
/verbose	Enables verbose logging. During installation, creates %Windir%\CabBuild.log. This log details the files that are copied. Using this switch may cause the installation to proceed more slowly.
/allinstances	Applies update to all instances
/InstanceName={instance}	Applies update to specified instance

Note You can combine these switches into one command. For backward compatibility, the security update also supports many of the setup switches that the earlier version of the Setup program uses. For more information about the supported installation switches, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 262841. For more information about the Update.exe installer, visit the Microsoft TechNet Web site.

Removing the Update

Note Removing this security update for WMSDE will completely remove the WMSDE instance from the system.

Uninstall commands for WMSDE:

MS_ADMT

msiexec /x {EEE5C104-B67A-486D-947E-A209F2058E93} /qn reboot=reallysupress /l*v %windir%\results\AdmtUn.log

MicrosoftADS

msiexec /x {B3E6E30F-7680-4DF9-A152-B5285098A5AD} /qn reboot=reallysupress /l*v %windir%\results\AdsUn.log

SharePoint

msiexec /x {65657C59-23A8-4974-B8E0-BA04EBD04E4F} /qn reboot=reallysupress /l*v %windir%\results\SharepointUn.log

UDDI

msiexec /x {B42339CD-9F22-4A6A-A023-D12990E0B918} /qn reboot=reallysupress /l*v %windir%\results\UddiUn.log

WSUS

msiexec /x {83BC1BC2-FCC4-4CED-8A3C-EB7CDFB3CF6A} /qn reboot=reallysupress /l*v %windir%\results\WsusUn.log

Verifying that the Update Has Been Applied

•

Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer To verify that a security update has been applied to an affected system, you may be able to use the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) tool. See the section, Detection and Deployment Tools and Guidance, earlier in this bulletin for more information.

•

File Version Verification Because there are several versions of Microsoft Windows, the following steps may be different on your computer. If they are, see your product documentation to complete these steps. 1. Click Start, and then click Search. 2. In the Search Results pane, click All files and folders under Search Companion. 3. In the All or part of the file name box, type a file name from the appropriate file information table, and then click Search. 4. In the list of files, right-click a file name from the appropriate file information table, and then click Properties. Note Depending on the version of the operating system or programs installed, some of the files that are listed in the file information table may not be installed. 5. On the Version tab, determine the version of the file that is installed on your computer by comparing it to the version that is documented in the appropriate file information table. Note Attributes other than the file version may change during installation. Comparing other file attributes to the information in the file information table is not a supported method of verifying that the update has been applied. Also, in certain cases, files may be renamed during installation. If the file or version information is not present, use one of the other available methods to verify update installation.

Top of section

Reference Table

The following table contains the security update information for this software. You can find additional information in the subsection, Deployment Information, in this section.

Deployment Information

Installing the Update

When you install this security update, the installer checks to see if one or more of the files that are being updated on your system have previously been updated by a Microsoft hotfix.

For more information about the terminology that appears in this bulletin, such as hotfix, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 824684.

This security update supports the following setup switches.

Supported Security Update Installation Switches
Switch	Description
/help	Displays the command-line options
Restart Options
/norestart	Does not restart when installation has completed
/forcerestart	Restarts the computer after installation and force other applications to close at shutdown without saving open files first.
/warnrestart[:x]	Presents a dialog box with a timer warning the user that the computer will restart in x seconds. (The default setting is 30 seconds.) Intended for use with the /quiet switch or the /passive switch.
/promptrestart	Display a dialog box prompting the local user to allow a restart
Special Options
/overwriteoem	Overwrites OEM files without prompting
/nobackup	Does not back up files needed for uninstall
/forceappsclose	Forces other programs to close when the computer shuts down
/log:path	Allows the redirection of installation log files
/integrate:path	Integrates the update into the Windows source files. These files are located at the path that is specified in the switch.
/extract[:path]	Extracts files without starting the Setup program
/ER	Enables extended error reporting
/verbose	Enables verbose logging. During installation, creates %Windir%\CabBuild.log. This log details the files that are copied. Using this switch may cause the installation to proceed more slowly.

Note You can combine these switches into one command. For backward compatibility, the security update also supports many of the setup switches that the earlier version of the Setup program uses. For more information about the supported installation switches, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 262841. For more information about the Update.exe installer, visit the Microsoft TechNet Web site.

Verifying that the Update Has Been Applied

•

Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer To verify that a security update has been applied to an affected system, you may be able to use the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) tool. See the section, Detection and Deployment Tools and Guidance, earlier in this bulletin for more information.

•

File Version Verification Because there are several versions of Microsoft Windows, the following steps may be different on your computer. If they are, see your product documentation to complete these steps. 1. Click Start, and then click Search. 2. In the Search Results pane, click All files and folders under Search Companion. 3. In the All or part of the file name box, type a file name from the appropriate file information table, and then click Search. 4. In the list of files, right-click a file name from the appropriate file information table, and then click Properties. Note Depending on the version of the operating system or programs installed, some of the files that are listed in the file information table may not be installed. 5. On the Version tab, determine the version of the file that is installed on your computer by comparing it to the version that is documented in the appropriate file information table. Note Attributes other than the file version may change during installation. Comparing other file attributes to the information in the file information table is not a supported method of verifying that the update has been applied. Also, in certain cases, files may be renamed during installation. If the file or version information is not present, use one of the other available methods to verify update installation.

Top of section