Microsoft Exchange MIME base64 code execution

Notification Type: IBM Internet Security Systems Protection Alert
Notification Date: May 8, 2007
Notification Version: 1.0
   
Name: Microsoft Exchange MIME base64 code execution
Public disclosure/
In the wild date:
May 8, 2007
Aliases: Microsoft Security Advisory (931832)
CVE: CVE-2007-0213
Description: Microsoft Exchange could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the system, caused by improper decoding of MIME base64-encoded content.

 

ISS Coverage

Product Content Version
Network Sensor 7.0
Proventia A
Proventia IPS (G/GX)
Server Sensor 7.0
Proventia Multifunction Appliance
Proventia Server (Linux)
27.010
Proventia Server (Windows)
Proventia Desktop
x.x.x.2020
RealSecure Desktop 7.0 EQH
BlackICE PC Protection 3.6 CQH
Enterprise Scanner 1.21
Internet Scanner 7.2.42
Propagation Techniques ISS Protection Available
remote exploit Email_Exchange_Mime_Decoding May 8, 2007
Detection Techniques ISS Detection Available
network assessment WinMs07kb931832Update May 9, 2007

Detailed Description

Business Impact:

This bulletin covers four vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Server. The most critical issue is a heap overflow that occurs when decoding Base 64 encoded MIME attachments. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would direct a specially-crafted email to a victim user. The user would have to view the email through the Outlook Web Access, IMAP, or POP3 interface in order for the exploit to work. Users reading mail through MAPI interfaces cannot trigger this exploit. Once the exploit is triggered, the attacker has complete control over the Exchange server. This vulnerability is challenging to locate, but we would not be surprised to see exploit POCs circulating not long after public disclosure. The second vulnerability allows an attacker to execute web scripts within the context of Outlook Web Access when a user views a specially crafted HTML email. This attack is similar to a cross-site scripting attack. Its most common application is likely to be theft of the victim's access credentials for the Outlook Web Server. The other two vulnerabilities are denial of service issues. An attacker with unauthenticated access to the Exchange IMAP Server could crash the server by sending a malformed string literal. Attackers could also crash Exchange by sending an email with a malformed iCal file to any user on the server.

CVSS: Base Score: 8
  Access Vector: Remote
Access Complexity: High
Authentication: Not Required
Confidentiality Impact: Complete
Integrity Impact: Complete 
Availability Impact: Complete 
Impact Bias: Normal 
Adjusted Temporal Score: 5.9
  Exploitability: Unproven
Remediation Level: Official Fix
Report Confidence: Confirmed 
Affected Products:

Microsoft Exchange: 2000 Server SP3
Microsoft Exchange Server: 2003
Microsoft Exchange Server: 2003 SP2
Microsoft Exchange Server: 2003 SP1
Microsoft Exchange Server: 2007

Technical Description: Microsoft Exchange could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the system, caused by improper decoding of MIME base64-encoded content. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a specially-crafted email to a user account on the server to execute arbitrary code on the system with the victim's privileges, once the email is opened.
Remediation: Apply the appropriate patch for your system, as listed in Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-026. See References.

References

XFDB http://xforce.iss.net/xforce/xfdb/33889
Microsoft http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms07-026.mspx

Revision History

1.0 Initial publication.

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