DNS SOA Record May Reveal Administrator Account Name

View products that this article applies to.

This article was previously published under Q268082

SYMPTOMS

Creating a new zone file in Domain Name System (DNS) could compromise the name of the Administrator account, even if the Administrator account has been renamed.

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When you create a DNS zone, the name of the logged-on user is automatically placed in the Responsible Person field in the Start of Authority (SOA) property for the new zone. If you log on with the Administrator account, or with a renamed Administrator account, that account name is placed in the field. Because this name is publicly accessible, it could give a malicious user a way to learn the logon name of the administrator who created the account.

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RESOLUTION

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

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

   Date      Time    Version        Size     File name
   ----------------------------------------------------
   07/24/00  4:07PM  5.0.2195.2103  699,664  Dnsmgr.dll

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Windows NT 4.0

To resolve this problem, obtain the Windows NT 4.0 Security Rollup Package. For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

299444 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/299444/EN-US/ ) Post-Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 6a Security Rollup Package (SRP)

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

   Date      Time    Version     Size     File name     Platform
   -------------------------------------------------------------
   07/21/00  8:02PM  4.0.1306.1  137,488  Dnsadmin.exe  Intel
   07/21/00  8:00PM  4.0.1306.1  187,152  Dnsadmin.exe  Alpha

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Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0, Terminal Server Edition

To resolve this problem, obtain the Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition, Security Rollup Package (SRP). For additional information about the SRP, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

317636 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/317636/EN-US/ ) Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition, Security Rollup Package

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WORKAROUND

After you create a zone file in DNS, select the properties for the zone and then change the name of the responsible user to a name other than the administrator on the SOA tab (Windows 2000) or in SOA properties (Windows NT 4.0).

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STATUS

Windows 2000

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 Windows 2000 Service Pack 2.

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