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The U.S. Department of Energy
Computer Incident Advisory Capability
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INFORMATION BULLETIN
Microsoft V1 Exchange Server Security Certificates Vulnerability
[Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-003]
January 23, 2003 20:00 GMT Number N-035
______________________________________________________________________________
PROBLEM: A V1 Exchange Server Security certificate is one of the
encryption certificate options that is available when Outlook
2002 is used in conjunction with a Microsoft Exchange mail
server. There is a flaw in the way Outlook 2002 handles a V1
Exchange Server Security certificate.
AFFECTED Microsoft Content Management Server 2001/Exchange using V1
SOFTWARE: Exchange Server Security Certificates
DAMAGE: As a result of this flaw, Outlook fails to encrypt the mail
correctly and the message will be sent in plain text. This
could cause the information in the e-mail to be exposed when
the user believed it to be protected through encryption.
SOLUTION: Apply available patch.
______________________________________________________________________________
VULNERABILITY The risk is LOW. The Exchange mail server's default certificate
ASSESSMENT: type is an S/MIME certificate - not a V1 Exchange Server
Security certificate. This vulnerability only affects Outlook
2002 and only when sending HTML e-mail.
______________________________________________________________________________
LINKS:
CIAC BULLETIN: http://www.ciac.org/ciac/bulletins/n-035.shtml
ORIGINAL BULLETIN:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=
/technet/security/bulletin/MS03-003.asp
______________________________________________________________________________
[***** Start Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-003 *****]
Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-003
Flaw in how Outlook 2002 handles V1 Exchange Server Security Certificates
could lead to Information Disclosure (812262)
Originally posted: January 22, 2003
Summary
Who should read this bulletin: Administrators of Microsoft Outlook 2002
systems using V1 Exchange Server Security certificates for encryption.
Impact of vulnerability: Information Disclosure
Maximum Severity Rating: Moderate
Recommendation: Administrators of Microsoft Outlook 2002 systems using
V1 Exchange Server Security certificates for encryption should apply
the patch immediately.
Affected Software:
Microsoft Outlook 2002
End User Bulletin: An end user version of this bulletin is available at:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/security_bulletins/ms03-003.asp.
Technical details
Technical description:
Microsoft Outlook 2002 provides the facility to encrypt e-mails sent between
e-mail recipients. Encryption is used to prevent parties other than the
intended recipients from reading the contents of an e-mail. Outlook uses
public key certificates to facilitate the exchange of the cryptographic
keys that are used in the encryption process, and Outlook offers a number
of different options as to what type of certificates can be used. S/MIME
certificates are the most commonly used (and are not affected by the
vulnerability that is the subject of this bulletin), but there are other
certificate options including V1 Exchange Server Security certificates.
A vulnerability exists because there is a flaw in the way Outlook 2002
handles a V1 Exchange Server Security certificate when using it to encrypt
e-mail. As a result of this flaw, Outlook fails to encrypt the mail
correctly and the message will be sent in plain text. This could cause
the information in the e-mail to be exposed when the user believed it
to be protected through encryption.
Mitigating factors:
This vulnerability only affects encryption when a V1 Exchange Server
Security certificate is used. S/MIME encryption, which is the most
widely used form of e-mail encryption used by Outlook, is not affected.
This vulnerability only affects Outlook 2002 and only when sending HTML e-mail.
Severity Rating: Outlook 2002 Moderate
The above assessment is based on the types of systems affected by the
vulnerability, their typical deployment patterns, and the effect that
exploiting the vulnerability would have on them.
Vulnerability identifier: CAN-2003-0007
Tested Versions:
Microsoft tested Outlook 98, Outlook 2000 and Outlook 2002 to assess whether
they are affected by these vulnerabilities. Previous versions are no longer
supported, and may or may not be affected by these vulnerabilities.
Patch availability
Download locations for this patch
Microsoft Outlook 2002:
http://microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?
FamilyId=F20A2E4B-E458-48F0-B0CB-7E73C0BB4884&displaylang=en
http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/xp/journ/olk1006a.htm (administrative update only)
Note: This and other Office updates can be obtained at
http://office.microsoft.com/productupdates.
Additional information about this patch
Installation platforms:
This patch can be installed on systems running Outlook 2002 with Office XP
Service Pack 2. (The administrative update can be installed on systems
running Office XP Service Pack 1 as well).
Inclusion in future service packs:
The fix for this issue will be included in any future service packs for Office XP.
Reboot needed: No
Patch can be uninstalled: No
Superseded patches: None.
Verifying patch installation:
Start Microsoft Outlook, and then click About Microsoft Outlook on the Help menu.
The product version is 10.4712.4219 if the patch is installed.
Caveats:
None
Localization:
Localized versions of this patch are available at the locations discussed in
“Patch Availability”.
Obtaining other security patches:
Patches for other security issues are available from the following locations:
Security patches are available from the Microsoft Download Center, and can be
most easily found by doing a keyword search for "security_patch".
Patches for consumer platforms are available from the WindowsUpdate web site
Other information:
Support:
Microsoft Knowledge Base article 812262 discusses this issue and will be
available approximately 24 hours after the release of this bulletin.
Knowledge Base articles can be found on the Microsoft Online Support web
site.
Technical support is available from Microsoft Product Support Services.
There is no charge for support calls associated with security patches.
Security Resources: The Microsoft TechNet Security Web Site provides
additional information about security in Microsoft products.
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 January 22, 2003: Bulletin Created.
[***** End Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-003 *****]
_______________________________________________________________________________
CIAC wishes to acknowledge the contributions of Microsoft Corportaion for the
information contained in this bulletin.
_______________________________________________________________________________
CIAC, the Computer Incident Advisory Capability, is the computer
security incident response team for the U.S. Department of Energy
(DOE) and the emergency backup response team for the National
Institutes of Health (NIH). CIAC is located at the Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory in Livermore, California. CIAC is also a founding
member of FIRST, the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams, a
global organization established to foster cooperation and coordination
among computer security teams worldwide.
CIAC services are available to DOE, DOE contractors, and the NIH. CIAC
can be contacted at:
Voice: +1 925-422-8193 (7x24)
FAX: +1 925-423-8002
STU-III: +1 925-423-2604
E-mail: ciac@ciac.org
Previous CIAC notices, anti-virus software, and other information are
available from the CIAC Computer Security Archive.
World Wide Web: http://www.ciac.org/
Anonymous FTP: ftp.ciac.org
PLEASE NOTE: Many users outside of the DOE, ESnet, and NIH computing
communities receive CIAC bulletins. If you are not part of these
communities, please contact your agency's response team to report
incidents. Your agency's team will coordinate with CIAC. The Forum of
Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST) is a world-wide
organization. A list of FIRST member organizations and their
constituencies can be obtained via WWW at http://www.first.org/.
This document was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an
agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States
Government nor the University of California nor any of their
employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any
legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or
usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process
disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately
owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial products,
process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or
otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement,
recommendation or favoring by the United States Government or the
University of California. The views and opinions of authors expressed
herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States
Government or the University of California, and shall not be used for
advertising or product endorsement purposes.
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