nt.ras.rras.password.txt

`Date: Thu, 27 May 1999 17:18:25 -0400  
From: Russ <[email protected]>  
To: [email protected]  
Subject: Alert: Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS99-017) - RAS & RRAS Passwords  
  
On March 20th, Dieter Goepferich [[email protected]]  
discovered a vulnerability involving both RAS and RRAS. This was  
subsequently reported in Heise Online, a German publication;  
  
http://www.heise.de/newsticker/data/cp-12.04.99-000/  
http://www.heise.de/newsticker/data/hos-15.04.99-000/  
  
Dieter originally reported it via some "product improvement suggestion"  
web form on www.microsoft.de back in March. Together we informed  
Microsoft Security ([email protected]) back in April.  
  
By default the registry key is only accessible to Administrator and the  
user/owner of the passwords, but it represents a potential threat and a  
location of password information which would not otherwise be expected.  
  
See;  
  
http://www.microsoft.com/security/bulletins/ms99-017.asp  
  
for the complete write up including fix locations. There are two KB  
articles about this (one for RAS, and another for RRAS). They were not  
yet available at the time of writing.  
  
RAS  
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q230/6/81.asp  
  
RRAS  
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q233/3/03.asp  
  
Cheers,  
Russ - NTBugtraq Editor  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Date: Thu, 27 May 1999 15:14:46 -0700  
From: [email protected]  
To: [email protected]  
Subject: Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS99-017)  
  
The following is a Security Bulletin from the Microsoft Product Security  
Notification Service.  
  
Please do not reply to this message, as it was sent from an unattended  
mailbox.  
********************************  
  
Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS99-017)  
--------------------------------------  
  
Patch Available for "RAS and RRAS Password" Vulnerability  
  
Originally Posted: May 27, 1999  
  
Summary  
=======  
Microsoft has released a patch that eliminates a vulnerability in the  
Microsoft (r) Windows NT (r) Remote Access Service (RAS) and Routing and  
Remote Access Service (RRAS) clients, in which a user's password is cached  
even if the user de-selects the "Save password" option.  
  
Issue  
=====  
When the client software for Microsoft RAS or RRAS is used to dial into a  
server, a dialogue requests the user's userid and password for the server.  
On the same dialogue is a checkbox whose caption reads "Save password" and  
which is intended to provide the user with the option to cache their  
security credentials if desired. However, the implemented client  
functionality actually caches the user's credentials regardless of whether  
the checkbox is selected or de-selected.  
  
Cached security credentials, which include the password, are stored in the  
registry and protected by ACLs whose default values authorize only local  
administrators and the user to access them. Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 4  
also provides the ability to strongly encrypts the password data stored in  
the registry using the SYSKEY feature.  
  
While there are no reports of customers being adversely affected by this  
vulnerability, Microsoft is proactively releasing a patch that restores  
correct functionality to the password caching function. The patch should be  
applied to all machines that are used as RAS or RRAS clients. It is  
important to note that RRAS servers also can be used as RRAS clients, and  
any machines used in such a capacity should have the patch applied as well.  
  
  
Affected Software Versions  
==========================  
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0  
- Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0  
- Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0, Enterprise Edition  
  
What Microsoft is Doing  
=======================  
Microsoft has released patches that fix the problem identified. The patches  
are available for download from the sites listed below in What Customers  
Should Do.  
  
Microsoft also has sent this security bulletin to customers  
subscribing to the Microsoft Product Security Notification Service.  
See http://www.microsoft.com/security/services/bulletin.asp for  
more information about this free customer service.  
  
Microsoft has published the following Knowledge Base (KB) article on this  
issue:  
- Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) article Q230681,  
RAS Credentials Saved when "Save Password" Option Unchecked,  
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q230/6/81.asp  
- Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) article Q233303,  
RRAS Credentials Saved when "Save Password" Option Unchecked,  
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q233/3/03.asp  
  
(Note: It might take 24 hours from the original posting of this bulletin for  
the KB article to be visible in the Web-based Knowledge Base.)  
  
What Customers Should Do  
========================  
Microsoft highly recommends that customers evaluate the degree of risk that  
this vulnerability poses to their systems and determine whether to download  
and install the patch. The patch can be found at:  
- RAS:  
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/winnt/winnt-public  
/fixes/usa/nt40/Hotfixes-PostSP5/RASPassword-fix/  
- RRAS:  
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/winnt/winnt-public  
/fixes/usa/nt40/Hotfixes-PostSP5/RRASPassword-fix/  
  
(Note: The URLs above have been wrapped for readability)  
  
More Information  
================  
Please see the following references for more information related to this  
issue.  
- Microsoft Security Bulletin MS99-017,  
Patch Available for "RAS and RRAS Password Caching"  
Vulnerability, (The Web-posted version of this bulletin),  
http://www.microsoft.com/security/bulletins/ms99-017.asp.  
- Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) article Q230681,  
RAS Credentials Saved when "Save Password" Option Unchecked,  
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q230/6/81.asp.  
- Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) article Q233303,  
RRAS Credentials Saved when "Save Password" Option Unchecked,  
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q233/3/03.asp  
  
Obtaining Support on this Issue  
===============================  
If you require technical assistance with this issue, please  
contact Microsoft Technical Support. For information on  
contacting Microsoft Technical Support, please see  
http://support.microsoft.com/support/contact/default.asp.  
  
Revisions  
=========  
- May 27, 1999: Bulletin Created.  
  
  
For additional security-related information about Microsoft products, please  
visit http://www.microsoft.com/security  
  
  
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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Date: Fri, 28 May 1999 07:59:35 -0400  
From: Russ <[email protected]>  
To: [email protected]  
Subject: Re: Alert: Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS99-017) - RAS & RRAS Passwords  
  
Wow, talk about goofing up.  
  
Eric Schultze correctly pointed out that he, together with Lisa  
O'Connor, Martin Dolphin, and Joe Greene reported this problem with RAS  
originally way back on March 19th, 1998 <-- (note, 1998, not 1999). See  
the original message at;  
  
http://ntbugtraq.ntadvice.com/default.asp?pid=36&sid=1&A2=ind9803&L=ntbu  
gtraq&F=P&S=&P=4209  
  
(URL is wrapped).  
  
I, most inappropriately, credited another with the discovery in March of  
this year.  
  
Its funny, when David LeBlanc first prompted me about this "discovery"  
this year, I could have sworn I'd seen it before but I failed to check  
my own archives...tsk tsk...;-]  
  
So, to Lisa, Martin, Joe, and Eric, please accept my humble apologies!  
  
To Microsoft, why the hell did it take a publication in a German  
magazine to provoke you to fix something that had been reported here a  
full year before?? Could it have been the fact that the 3/99 publication  
included an exploit tool? Maybe we need to have an exploit coding group  
at NTBugtraq that produces a tool for everything reported and  
distributes said tool to all and sunder?  
  
Cheers,  
Russ - NTBugtraq Editor  
  
`