Internet Gopher protocol requests can control your pc

Microsoft issued a “critical” security alert about a hole in its Internet Explorer browser that could allow hackers to use an outdated Internet protocol to seize control of people’s computers.

A problem may occur on an Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server-based or Proxy Server 2.0-based computer during the processing of Internet Gopher protocol requests. A typical Gopher request may look similar to this:

gopher://gopher.example.com:70/11/example%09%09%2b

When a malicious request is received, the ISA Server-based or Proxy Server 2.0-based computer may send back a response that is not valid, generate an access violation error message, and stop providing services.

A successful attack against the ISA Server-based or Proxy Server 2.0-based computer requires a malicious Gopher request. This request must originate from a valid user who is permitted by the firewall policy and that is received by the Web Proxy service. This means that a valid client would have to submit the initial request.

The vulnerability results because of an unchecked buffer in the code. This code handles information that is returned from a server by using the Gopher protocol. By configuring a Gopher server to return information in a particular manner in response to requests, an attacker might attempt to overflow the buffer and load code on the computer.

You must install ISA Server Service Pack 1 (SP1) before you apply the following hotfix.

For additional information about how to obtain the latest ISA Server service pack, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

How to Obtain the Latest Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2000 Service Pack

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:

Download Isahf177.exe

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