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Security Bulletin

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS00-004 - Important

Patch Available for 'RDISK Registry Enumeration File' Vulnerability

Published: January 21, 2000 | Updated: February 04, 2000

Version: 1.0

Originally Posted: January 21, 2000
Revised: February 4, 2000

Summary

On January 21, 2000, Microsoft released the original version of this bulletin, discussing a security vulnerability in a Microsoft® Windows NT 4.0 administrative utility. The original version of the bulletin discussed the vulnerability within the context of Windows NT 4.0 Server, Terminal Server Edition. However, we have since learned of scenarios under which the vulnerability could also affect Windows NT 4.0 servers and workstations, and have revised the bulletin accordingly.

The utility creates a temporary file during execution that can contain security-sensitive information, but does not appropriately restrict access to it. Under certain conditions, it could be possible for a malicious user to read the file as it was being created

Frequently asked questions regarding this vulnerability can be found at https://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/fq00-004.mspx.

General Information

Issue

The RDISK utility is used to create an Emergency Repair Disk (ERD) in order to record machine state information as a contingency against system failure. During execution, RDISK creates a temporary file containing an enumeration of the registry. The ACLs on the file allow global read permission, and as a result, a malicious user who knew that the administrator was running RDISK could open the file and read the registry enumeration information as it was being created. RDISK erases the file upon successful completion, so under normal conditions there would be no lasting vulnerability.

By default, the file is not shared and therefore could not be read by other network users.

Affected Software Versions

  • Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Workstation
  • Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Server
  • Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, Enterprise Edition
  • Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, Terminal Server Edition

Vulnerability Identifier: CVE-2000-0089

Patch Availability

More Information

Please see the following references for more information related to this issue.

Obtaining Support on this Issue

This is a fully supported patch. Information on contacting Microsoft Technical Support is available at https://support.microsoft.com/contactussupport/?ws=support.

Acknowledgments

Microsoft thanks Arne Vidstrom (https://ntsecurity.nu) for reporting this issue to us and working with us to protect customers.

Revisions

  • January 21, 2000: Bulletin Created.
  • February 4, 2000: Bulletin revised to address other affected versions

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