Security Bulletin

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS12-040 - Important

Vulnerability in Microsoft Dynamics AX Enterprise Portal Could Allow Elevation of Privilege (2709100)

Published: June 12, 2012

Version: 1.0

General Information

Executive Summary

This security update resolves one privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft Dynamics AX Enterprise Portal. The vulnerability could allow elevation of privilege if a user clicks a specially crafted URL or visits a specially crafted website. In an email attack scenario, an attacker could exploit the vulnerability by sending an email message that contains the specially crafted URL to the user of the targeted Microsoft Dynamics AX Enterprise Portal site and by convincing the user to click the specially crafted URL. Internet Explorer 8 and Internet Explorer 9 users browsing to a Microsoft Dynamics AX Enterprise Portal site in the Internet Zone are at a reduced risk. By default, the XSS Filter in Internet Explorer 8 and Internet Explorer 9 prevents this attack in the Internet Zone. However, the XSS Filter in Internet Explorer 8 and Internet Explorer 9 is not enabled by default in the Intranet Zone.

This security update is rated Important for all supported editions of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Enterprise Portal. For more information, see the subsection, Affected and Non-Affected Software, in this section.

The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting the way that Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Enterprise Portal validates and sanitizes user input. For more information about the vulnerability, see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) subsection for the specific vulnerability entry under the next section, Vulnerability Information.

Recommendation.  Microsoft recommends that customers apply the update at the earliest opportunity.

Known Issues. Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 2709100 documents the currently known issues that customers may experience when installing this security update. The article also documents recommended solutions for these issues.

Affected and Non-Affected Software

The following software have been tested to determine which versions or editions are affected. Other versions or editions are either past their support life cycle or are not affected. To determine the support life cycle for your software version or edition, visit Microsoft Support Lifecycle.

Affected Software

Software Component Maximum Security Impact Aggregate Severity Rating Updates Replaced
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Enterprise Portal[1]\ (KB2706738)\ \ Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Enterprise Portal[1]\ (KB2710639)\ \ Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Enterprise Portal[1]\ (KB2711239) Elevation of Privilege Important None

[1]This update is available from the Microsoft Download Center and the Microsoft Dynamics CustomerSource and Microsoft Dynamics PartnerSource websites only. Please see the next section, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Related to This Security Update.

Non-Affected Software

Software
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 Service Pack 1
Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0 Service Pack 2

Why are the updates only available from the Microsoft Download Center and the Microsoft Dynamics CustomerSource and Microsoft Dynamics PartnerSource websites? 
Microsoft is releasing these updates to the Microsoft Download Center so that customers can begin updating their systems as soon as possible. These security updates are also available from the Microsoft Dynamics CustomerSource and Microsoft Dynamics PartnerSource websites.

Where are the file information details? 
Refer to the reference tables in the Security Update Deployment section for the location of the file information details.

Why are multiple update packages listed for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012Enterprise Portal? 
The updates required to address the vulnerabilities described in this bulletin are offered across different update packages as indicated in the Affected Software table because of the componentized servicing model for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Enterprise Portal.

Do I need to install these security updates in a particular sequence? 
No. Multiple updates for one version of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Enterprise Portal can be applied in any sequence.

I am using an older release of the software discussed in this security bulletin. What should I do? 
The affected software listed in this bulletin have been tested to determine which releases are affected. Other releases are past their support life cycle. For more information about the product lifecycle, visit the Microsoft Support Lifecycle website.

It should be a priority for customers who have older releases of the software to migrate to supported releases to prevent potential exposure to vulnerabilities. To determine the support lifecycle for your software release, see Select a Product for Lifecycle Information. For more information about service packs for these software releases, see Service Pack Lifecycle Support Policy.

Customers who require custom support for older software must contact their Microsoft account team representative, their Technical Account Manager, or the appropriate Microsoft partner representative for custom support options. Customers without an Alliance, Premier, or Authorized Contract can contact their local Microsoft sales office. For contact information, visit the Microsoft Worldwide Information website, select the country in the Contact Information list, and then click Go to see a list of telephone numbers. When you call, ask to speak with the local Premier Support sales manager. For more information, see the Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy FAQ.

Vulnerability Information

Severity Ratings and Vulnerability Identifiers

The following severity ratings assume the potential maximum impact of the vulnerability. For information regarding the likelihood, within 30 days of this security bulletin's release, of the exploitability of the vulnerability in relation to its severity rating and security impact, please see the Exploitability Index in the June bulletin summary. For more information, see Microsoft Exploitability Index.

Affected Software Dynamics AX Enterprise Portal XSS Vulnerability - CVE-2012-1857 Aggregate Severity Rating
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Enterprise Portal Important  Elevation of Privilege Important

Dynamics AX Enterprise Portal XSS Vulnerability - CVE-2012-1857

A cross-site scripting vulnerability exists in Microsoft Dynamics AX Enterprise Portal that could result in information disclosure or elevation of privilege if a user clicks a specially crafted URL that contains malicious JavaScript elements. Because of the vulnerability, when the malicious JavaScript is echoed back to the user's browser, the resulting page could allow an attacker to issue Microsoft Dynamics AX Enterprise Portal commands in the context of the authenticated user on the targeted Microsoft Dynamics AX Enterprise Portal site.

To view this vulnerability as a standard entry in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures list, see CVE-2012-1857.

Mitigating Factors for Dynamics AX Enterprise Portal XSS Vulnerability - CVE-2012-1857

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:

  • In a web-based attack scenario, an attacker could host a website that contains a webpage that is used to exploit this vulnerability. In addition, compromised websites and websites that accept or host user-provided content or advertisements could contain specially crafted content that could exploit this vulnerability. In all cases, however, an attacker would have no way to force users to visit these websites. Instead, an attacker would have to convince users to visit the website, typically by getting them to click a link in an email message or Instant Messenger message that takes users to the attacker's website and then convince them to click a specially crafted URL that is used to exploit the vulnerability.
  • Internet Explorer 8 and Internet Explorer 9 users browsing to a Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Enterprise Portal site in the Internet Zone are at a reduced risk. By default, the XSS Filter in Internet Explorer 8 and Internet Explorer 9 prevents this attack in the Internet Zone. The XSS Filter in Internet Explorer 8 and Internet Explorer 9, however, is not enabled by default in the Intranet Zone.
  • The vulnerability cannot be exploited automatically through email. For an attack to be successful, a user must click a specially crafted URL that is sent in an email message.

Workarounds for Dynamics AX Enterprise Portal XSS Vulnerability - CVE-2012-1857

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:

  • Enable Internet Explorer 8 and Internet Explorer 9 XSS filter in the Local intranet security zone

    You can help protect against exploitation of this vulnerability by changing your settings to enable the XSS filter in the Local intranet security zone. (XSS filter is enabled by default in the Internet security zone.) To do this, perform the following steps:

    1. In Internet Explorer 8 or Internet Explorer 9, click Internet Options on the Tools menu.
    2. Click the Security tab.
    3. Click Local intranet, and then click Custom Level.
    4. Under Settings, in the Scripting section, under Enable XSS filter, click Enable, and then click OK.
    5. Click OK two times to return to Internet Explorer.

    Impact of workaround. Internal sites not previously flagged as being XSS risks could be flagged.

    How to undo the workaround. 

    To undo this workaround, perform the following steps:

    1. In Internet Explorer 8 or Internet Explorer 9, click Internet Options on the Tools menu.
    2. Click the Security tab.
    3. Click Local intranet, and then click Custom Level.
    4. Under Settings, in the Scripting section, under Enable XSS filter, click Disable, and then click OK.
    5. Click OK two times to return to Internet Explorer.

FAQ for Dynamics AX Enterprise Portal XSS Vulnerability - CVE-2012-1857

What is the scope of the vulnerability?
This is a cross-site scripting vulnerability that could result in elevation of privilege or information disclosure.

What is the component affected by the vulnerability?
The Enterprise Portal component of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 is affected.

What causes the vulnerability?
The vulnerability is caused when Microsoft Dynamics AX Enterprise Portal does not properly handle malicious JavaScript elements contained within a specially crafted URL, allowing the script to be displayed back to the user's browser.

What is cross-site scripting?
Cross-site scripting (XSS) is a class of security vulnerability that can enable an attacker to inject script code into a user's session with a website. The vulnerability can affect web servers that dynamically generate HTML pages. If these servers embed browser input in the dynamic pages that they send back to the browser, these servers can be manipulated to include maliciously supplied content in the dynamic pages. This can allow malicious script to be executed. Web browsers may perpetuate this problem through their assumptions of trusted sites and their use of cookies to maintain persistent state with the websites that they frequent. An XSS attack does not modify website content. Instead, it inserts new, malicious script that can execute at the browser in the context that is associated with a trusted server.

What might an attacker use the vulnerability to do?
An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could read content that the attacker is not authorized to read, use the victim's identity to take actions on the Microsoft Dynamics AX Enterprise Portal site on behalf of the victim, such as change permissions and delete content, and inject malicious content in the browser of the victim.

How could an attacker exploit the vulnerability?
For this vulnerability to be exploited, a user must click a specially crafted URL that takes the user to a targeted Microsoft Dynamics AX Enterprise Portal site that then displays the script back to the user's browser.

In an email attack scenario, an attacker could exploit the vulnerability by sending an email message that contains the specially crafted URL to the user of the targeted Microsoft Dynamics AX Enterprise Portal site and by convincing the user to click the specially crafted URL.

In a web-based attack scenario, an attacker would have to host a website that contains a specially crafted URL to the targeted Microsoft Dynamics AX Enterprise Portal site that is used to attempt to exploit this vulnerability. In addition, compromised websites and websites that accept or host user-provided content could contain specially crafted content that could exploit this vulnerability. An attacker would have no way to force users to visit a specially crafted website. Instead, an attacker would have to convince them to visit the website, typically by getting them to click a link in an email message or Instant Messenger message that takes them to the attacker's website, and then convince them to click the specially crafted URL.

What systems are primarily at risk from the vulnerability?
Systems where users connect to a Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Enterprise Portal server, such as workstations or terminal servers, are primarily at risk.

What is the Internet Explorer 8 and Internet Explorer 9 Cross-site Scripting (XSS) Filter?
Cross-site scripting attacks try to exploit vulnerabilities in the websites you use. Cross-site scripting attacks have emerged as a leading online threat, so Internet Explorer 8 and Internet Explorer 9 include a cross-site scripting filter that can detect these types of attacks and disable the harmful scripts. By default, the cross-site scripting filter is turned on in Internet Explorer 8 and Internet Explorer 9 for the Internet Zone.

What does the update do?
The update addresses the vulnerability by correcting the way that Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Enterprise Portal validates and sanitizes user input.

When this security bulletin was issued, had this vulnerability been publicly disclosed?
No. Microsoft received information about this vulnerability through coordinated vulnerability disclosure.

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 when this security bulletin was originally issued.

Update Information

Detection and Deployment Tools and Guidance

Security Central

Manage the software and security updates you need to deploy to the servers, desktop, and mobile systems in your organization. For more information see the TechNet Update Management Center. The Microsoft TechNet Security website provides additional information about security in Microsoft products.

These security updates are available from the Microsoft Download Center and the Microsoft Dynamics CustomerSource and Microsoft Dynamics PartnerSource websites. You can find them most easily by doing a keyword search for "security update."

Security Update Deployment

Affected Software

For information about the specific security update for your affected software, click the appropriate link:

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Enterprise Portal

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.

Inclusion in Future Service Packs The update for this issue may be included in a future service pack or update rollup
Deployment  
Installing without user intervention DynamicsAX2012-KB2706738.EXE /passive\ DynamicsAX2012-KB2710639.EXE /passive\ DynamicsAX2012-KB2711239.EXE /passive
Installing without restarting DynamicsAX2012-KB2706738.EXE /norestart\ DynamicsAX2012-KB2710639.EXE /norestart\ DynamicsAX2012-KB2711239.EXE /norestart
Update log file Not applicable
Further information For detection and deployment, see the earlier section, Detection and Deployment Tools and Guidance.
Restart Requirement  
Restart required? After you install this update, you must restart the Application Object Server (AOS) service and re-deploy Enterprise Portal. You may also have to restart your system.\ \ In some cases, this update does not require a system restart. If the required files are being used, this update will require a restart. If this behavior occurs, a message appears that advises you to restart.\ \ To help reduce the chance that a restart will be required, stop all affected services and close all applications that may use the affected files prior to installing the security update. For more information about the reasons why you may be prompted to restart, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 887012.
Hotpatching Not applicable
Removal Information This security update cannot be removed.
File Information See Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 2706738\ See Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 2710639\ See Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 2711239
Registry Key Verification Not applicable

Deployment Information

Installing the Update

You can install the update from the appropriate download link in the Affected and Non-Affected Software section. If you installed your application from a server location, the server administrator must instead update the server location with the administrative update and deploy that update to your system. For more information about Administrative Installation Points, refer to the Office Administrative Installation Point information in the Detection and deployment Tools and Guidance subsection.

This security update requires that Windows Installer 3.1 or later version be installed on the system.

To install the 3.1 or later version of Windows Installer, visit one of the following Microsoft websites:

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
/? or /help Displays usage dialog.
/passive Specifies passive mode. Requires no user interaction; users see basic progress dialogs but cannot cancel.
/quiet Specifies quiet mode, or suppresses prompts, when files are being extracted.
/norestart Suppresses restarting the system if the update requires a restart.
/forcerestart Automatically restarts the system after applying the update, regardless of whether the update requires the restart.
/extract Extracts the files without installing them. You are prompted for a target folder.
/extract:<path> Overrides the install command that is defined by author. Specifies the path and name of the Setup.inf or .exe file.
/lang:<LCID> Forces the use of a specific language, when the update package supports that language.
/log:<log file> Enables logging, by both Vnox and Installer, during the update installation.

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.

Removing the Update

This security update cannot be removed.

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 editions of Microsoft Windows, the following steps may be different on your system. If they are, see your product documentation to complete these steps.

    1. Click Start and then enter an update file name in Start Search.
    2. When the file appears under Programs, right-click on the file name and click Properties.
    3. Under the General tab, compare the file size with the file information tables provided in the bulletin KB article.
    4. You may also click on the Details tab and compare information, such as file version and date modified, with the file information tables provided in the bulletin KB article.
    5. Finally, you may also click on the Previous Versions tab and compare file information for the previous version of the file with the file information for the new, or updated, version of the file.

Other Information

Acknowledgments

Microsoft thanks the following for working with us to help protect customers:

  • Finian Mackin for reporting the Dynamics AX Enterprise Portal XSS Vulnerability (CVE-2012-1857)

Microsoft Active Protections Program (MAPP)

To improve security protections for customers, Microsoft provides vulnerability information to major security software providers in advance of each monthly security update release. Security software providers can then use this vulnerability information to provide updated protections to customers via their security software or devices, such as antivirus, network-based intrusion detection systems, or host-based intrusion prevention systems. To determine whether active protections are available from security software providers, please visit the active protections websites provided by program partners, listed in Microsoft Active Protections Program (MAPP) Partners.

Support

How to obtain help and support for this security update

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 (June 12, 2012): Bulletin published.

Built at 2014-04-18T13:49:36Z-07:00