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A Program that Passes Invalid Screen Size Parameters Causes an Access Violation

Article ID: 311486 - View products that this article applies to.

This article was previously published under Q311486

SYMPTOMS

The versions of Windows listed at the beginning of this article contain the following vulnerability: When you run a local program that passes invalid parameters that are smaller than the screen size, this causes an access violation (AV). As a result, Windows stops responding (crashes).

Sample Code

The following uncompiled sample code is known to cause this behavior:

#include <stdio.h>

int main(void)
{
while(1)
printf("\t\t\b\b\b\b\b\b");
return 0;
}

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CAUSE

This behavior occurs because Windows checks invalid parameters that are larger than the screen size, but does not currently check invalid parameters that are smaller than the screen size.

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RESOLUTION

Windows XP

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows XP. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322389

(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322389/EN-US/ )

How to Obtain the Latest Windows XP Service Pack

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

(http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support)

Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

File information

The English-language version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later:

   Date         Time   Version      Size     File name
   ----------------------------------------------------
   02-Nov-2001  21:43  5.1.2600.19  272,384  Winsrv.dll
   02-Nov-2001  21:43  5.1.2600.19  272,384  Winsrv.dll

Windows 2000

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows 2000. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

260910

(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/260910/EN-US/ )

How to Obtain the Latest Windows 2000 Service Pack

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, submit a request to Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

(http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support)

Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

File information

The English-language version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later:

   Date         Time   Version        Size       File name
   ----------------------------------------------------------
   05-Nov-2001  18:57  5.0.2195.4572    222,480  Gdi32.dll
   05-Nov-2001  18:57  5.0.2195.4272    731,920  Kernel32.dll
   25-Jun-2001  18:17  3.10.0.103        47,808  User.exe
   05-Nov-2001  18:57  5.0.2195.4314    402,192  User32.dll
   05-Nov-2001  18:57  5.0.2195.4345    371,984  Userenv.dll
   27-Sep-2001  15:00  5.0.2195.4426  1,731,536  Win32k.sys
   30-Oct-2001  18:17  5.0.2195.4575    178,960  Winlogon.exe
   05-Nov-2001  18:58  5.0.2195.4553    243,472  Winsrv.dll
   05-Nov-2001  18:58  5.0.2195.4272    731,920  Kernel32.dll
   05-Nov-2001  18:58  5.0.2195.4426  1,731,536  Win32k.sys
   05-Nov-2001  18:58  5.0.2195.4553    243,472  Winsrv.dll

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STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was first corrected in Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 (SP3) and Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1).

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MORE INFORMATION

This update causes Windows to check lower boundaries. The Winsrv.dll file is directly affected by this update, but the following files are included because of dependency issues:

User.exe
User32.dll
Win32k.sys
Gdi32.dll
Userenv.dll
Kernel32.dll
Winlogon.exe

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