• Article

Security Bulletin

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS99-024 - Important

Patch Available for "Unprotected IOCTLs" Vulnerability

Published: July 06, 1999 | Updated: March 10, 2003

Version: 2.0

Patch Availability Information Updated: March 10, 2003

Originally Posted: July 06, 1999

Summary

Microsoft has released a patch that eliminates a vulnerability that could allow denial of service attacks against a Microsoft® Windows NT® workstation, server or terminal server. An unprivileged program can disable the local mouse or keyboard on a server or workstation, and disable the console mouse or keyboard on a terminal server.

Frequently asked questions regarding this vulnerability can be found at https://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/fq99-024.mspx

Issue

The IOCTLs that are used to obtain services from the keyboard and mouse drivers in Windows NT do not require that the calling program have administrative privileges. A user-level program could use legitimate calls to disable the mouse and keyboard, after which the machine would need to be rebooted to restore normal service. On a terminal server, such a program could disable the keyboard and mouse on the console.

Affected Software Versions

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

Vulnerability Identifier: CVE-1999-0728

Patch Availability

  • Windows NT Server and Workstation 4.0: https:
  • Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition: </https:>https:

More Information

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

  • Microsoft Security Bulletin MS99-024: Frequently Asked Questions, https://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/fq99-024.mspx.

  • Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) article 236359, Denial of Service Attack Using Unprotected IOCTL Function Call, </https:>https:

    (Note    It may take 24 hours from the original posting of this bulletin for the KB article to be visible; however, a copy will be immediately available in the patch folder.)

  • Microsoft Security web site, </https:>https:.

Obtaining Support on this Issue

This is a fully supported patch. Information on contacting Microsoft Technical Support is available at </https:>https:.

Acknowledgments

Microsoft acknowledges Mark Russinovich of Systems Internals for discovering this vulnerability and reporting it to us.

Revisions

  • July 06, 1999: Bulletin Created.
  • V2.0 (March 10, 2003): Introduced versioning and updated patch availability information

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