Software Engineering Institute

From Microsoft Security Bulletin MS04-003:

Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) is a collection of components that provides the underlying functionality for a number of database operations, such as connecting to remote databases and returning data to a client.
MS04-003 notes that "...MDAC is a ubiquitous technology" that is installed as part of Windows 2000, Windows XP, and other Microsoft programs (e.g., Microsoft Access and Microsoft SQL Server).

An MDAC client sends a network broadcast to port 1434/udp to query for systems running Microsoft SQL Server. A buffer overflow vulnerability exists in an MDAC component that handles responses to such a query. The vulnerability could be triggered by a specially crafted response packet. An MDAC client is only vulnerable for some period of time after it issues a query.

A remote attacker could execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the process using MDAC. The attacker could also cause a denial of service.

Apply patch
Apply the appropriate patch referenced in Microsoft Security Bulletin MS04-003.

Block or Restrict Access

Block or restrict inbound access to port 1434/udp. Note that a firewall that performs stateful inspection may allow inbound responses after recording an outbound broadcast.