Microsoft Security Bulletin MS14-031 - Important

• 10/11/2017
• 15 minutes to read
• • 

Vulnerability in TCP Protocol Could Allow Denial of Service (2962478)

Published: June 10, 2014

Version: 1.0

General Information

Executive Summary

This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft Windows. The vulnerability could allow denial of service if an attacker sends a sequence of specially crafted packets to the target system.

This security update is rated Important for all supported editions of Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, Windows RT, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, and Windows RT 8.1. For more information, see the subsection, Affected and Non-Affected Software, in this section.

The security update addresses the vulnerability by modifying the way that the Windows TCP/IP stack handles specially crafted packets. For more information about the vulnerability, see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) subsection for the specific vulnerability later in this bulletin.

Recommendation. Most customers have automatic updating enabled and will not need to take any action because this security update will be downloaded and installed automatically. Customers who have not enabled automatic updating need to check for updates and install this update manually. For information about specific configuration options in automatic updating, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 294871.

For administrators and enterprise installations, or end users who want to install this security update manually, Microsoft recommends that customers apply the update at the earliest opportunity using update management software, or by checking for updates using the Microsoft Update service.

See also the section, Detection and Deployment Tools and Guidance, later in this bulletin.

Knowledge Base Article

• Knowledge Base Article: 2962478
• File Information: Yes
• SHA1/SHA2 hashes: Yes
• Known issues: None

Affected and Non-Affected Software

The following software has 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, see Microsoft Support Lifecycle.

Affected Software 

^[2]This update is for systems that do not have the 2919355 update installed. This update is not available via the Microsoft Download Center. See the Update FAQ for more information.

^[3]This update is available via Windows Update.

Non-Affected Software

TCP Denial of Service Vulnerability - CVE-2014-1811

A denial of service vulnerability exists in the Windows TCP/IP networking protocol. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could cause the affected system to stop responding.

To view this vulnerability as a standard entry in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures list, see CVE-2014-1811.

Mitigating Factors

Microsoft has not identified any mitigating factors for this vulnerability.

Workarounds

Microsoft has not identified any workarounds for this vulnerability.

FAQ

What is the scope of the vulnerability?
This is a denial of service vulnerability.

What causes the vulnerability?
The vulnerability is caused when the Windows TCP/IP stack improperly processes specially crafted packets.

What is TCP/IP?
TCP/IP is a set of networking protocols that are widely used on the Internet. TCP/IP provides communications across interconnected networks of computers that have diverse hardware architectures and that run various operating systems. TCP/IP includes standards for how computers communicate and conventions for connecting networks and for routing traffic. For more information about TCP/IP, see the TechNet article, Overview of networking and TCP/IP.

What might an attacker use the vulnerability to do?
An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could cause the target system to stop responding.

How could an attacker exploit the vulnerability?
A remote unauthenticated attacker could exploit this vulnerability by creating a program to send a sequence of specially crafted packets to a target system.

What systems are primarily at risk from the vulnerability?
Servers and workstations are most at risk from this vulnerability.

What does the update do?
The update addresses the vulnerability by modifying the way that the Windows TCP/IP stack handles the specially crafted packets.

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.

Detection and Deployment Tools and Guidance

Several resources are available to help administrators deploy security updates. 

• Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) lets administrators scan local and remote systems for missing security updates and common security misconfigurations. 
• Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), Systems Management Server (SMS), and System Center Configuration Manager help administrators distribute security updates. 
• The Update Compatibility Evaluator components included with Application Compatibility Toolkit aid in streamlining the testing and validation of Windows updates against installed applications. 

For information about these and other tools that are available, see Security Tools for IT Pros. 

Security Update Deployment

Windows Vista (all editions)

Reference Table

The following table contains the security update information for this software.