Patch Available for Windows Media Player 6.4 and 7 Internet Shortcut Vulnerability View products that this article applies to. Article ID : 296138 Last Review : August 9, 2004 Revision : 1.0 This article was previously published under Q296138 On This Page SYMPTOMS Mitigating Factors CAUSE RESOLUTION Windows Media Player 7 Windows Media Player 6.4 STATUS Windows Media Player 7 Windows Media Player 6.4 MORE INFORMATION APPLIES TO SYMPTOMS Microsoft has made a patch available to eliminate a security vulnerability that exists in Windows Media Player 6.4 and 7. This vulnerability could enable an attacker to read certain types of files from the computer of a user who visited the attacker's Web site. The vulnerability would not allow the attacker to add, change, or delete files, nor would it allow the attacker to take any administrative control over the computer. Back to the top Mitigating Factors • To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker would need to persuade a user to visit a particular Web page or open an HTML e-mail message the attacker had created. • The attacker would need to know the exact file name and location of every file they wanted to read by using this vulnerability. • On a computer that is running Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 or Microsoft Windows 2000, the attacker would need to know the exact location of the Temporary Files folder (which is unique for every user). Back to the top CAUSE This problem can occur because Windows Media Player 6.4 and 7 store Internet shortcuts in the user's Temporary Files folder instead of the Internet Explorer cache. This could give an attacker an opportunity to create a file that contains HTML code on the user's computer and open it in the Local Computer Zone rather than the Internet Zone. Back to the top RESOLUTION Windows Media Player 7 To resolve this problem, view the following Microsoft Web site to upgrade to Windows Media Player 7.1 or later: http://download.microsoft.com/download/winmediaplayer/wmp71/7.1/W982KMe/EN-US/mp71.exe (http://download.microsoft.com/download/winmediaplayer/wmp71/7.1/w982kme/en-us/mp71.exe) For more information about Windows Media Technologies, see the following Microsoft web site: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/default.asp (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/default.asp) Back to the top Windows Media Player 6.4 A supported fix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Apply it only to computers that you determine are at risk of attack. Evaluate your computer's physical accessibility, network and Internet connectivity, and other factors to determine the degree of risk to your computer. See the associated Microsoft Security Bulletin (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms01-029.asp) to help determine the degree of risk. This fix may receive additional testing. If your computer is sufficiently at risk, Microsoft recommends that you apply this fix now. To resolve this problem immediately, download the fix by clicking the download link later in this article or contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information about support costs, please visit the following Microsoft Web site: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;CNTACTMS (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;en-us;cntactms) NOTE: In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled, if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question. The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center: Download WMSU47357.exe now (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/release.asp?releaseid=29921) For additional information about how to download Microsoft Support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 119591 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/119591/EN-US/) How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help to prevent any unauthorized changes to the file. The English version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later: Date Time Version Size File name ----------------------------------------------------- 01/31/2001 11:33p 516 Control.xml 05/03/2001 04:24p 6.4.7.1117 498,448 Dxm550.dll 05/03/2001 05:02p 6.4.7.1117 525,312 Dxmasf.dll 05/11/2001 09:28a 5,891 Eula.txt 04/20/2001 04:33p 4.1.0.3925 28,160 Laprxy.dll 04/20/2001 04:33p 4.1.0.3925 68,608 Logagent.exe 04/05/2001 04:09p 6.4.9.1116 844,048 Msdxm.ocx 04/05/2001 04:10p 6.4.7.1116 845,584 Msdxm550.ocx 05/01/2001 05:08p 7.1.0.3055 274,432 Setup_wm.exe 04/20/2001 01:14p 4.1.0.3925 251,904 Strmdll.dll 12/06/2000 12:43a 7.0.0.1958 65,592 Wminf.exe 05/08/2001 03:10p 8,636 Wmqfe.cat 04/25/2001 04:10p 2,439 Wmqfe.inf Back to the top STATUS Windows Media Player 7 Microsoft has confirmed that this problem may cause a degree of security vulnerability in Windows Media Player 7. This problem was first corrected in Windows Media Player 7.1 (http://download.microsoft.com/download/winmediaplayer/wmp71/7.1/w982kme/en-us/mp71.exe). Back to the top Windows Media Player 6.4 Microsoft has confirmed that this problem may cause a degree of security vulnerability in Windows Media Player 6.4.