INTRODUCTION

Microsoft has released a security advisory about a vulnerability in Microsoft SQL Server that could allow remote code execution. The security advisory contains additional security-related information. To view the security advisory, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/961040.mspxThis article includes a VB script that you can use to apply a workaround to all running instances of SQL Server on a local computer.

EXAMPLE OF A VB SCRIPT THAT YOU CAN USE TO APPLY THE WORKAROUND

You can use this VB script to deny Execute permission to the Public role on the sp_replwritetovarbin extended stored procedure on all affected versions of SQL Server that are running on the local computer.Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied. This includes, but is not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language that is being demonstrated and with the tools that are used to create and to debug procedures. Microsoft support engineers can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure. However, they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific requirements. Copy this code to a text file, save the file using a .vbs file name extension, and then run the script file using CScript.exe. The script iterates through the running instances of SQL Server on the local computer and applies the workaround on the affected versions. You must be a member of the sysadmin role on each instance of SQL Server to apply the workaround. If you do not have a Windows account that is a member of the sysadmin role on all affected servers that are running SQL Server, you may have to run this script from multiple accounts. On Windows Server 2008 and on Windows Vista, if you are using a Windows administrator account that is a member of the sysadmin role, you must run this script from an “elevated” command prompt.

'*************************************************************************************'Description: This script iterates through all the running instances of SQL Server '            and denies execute permission on sp_replwritetovarbin to public on all'            the affected versions.'            THIS IS PROVIDED AS A WORKAROUND AND SHOULD NOT BE USED IN THE EVENT THAT '            A SECURITY UPDATE IS PROVIDED AND INSTALLED.'*************************************************************************************OPTION EXPLICITON ERROR RESUME NEXT' Constant valuesCONST EXIT_SUCCESS       = 0CONST EXIT_FAILURE       = 1CONST EXIT_NOINSTANCES   = -1CONST DEFAULTNAMESPACE   = "root\default"CONST STDREGPROV         = "stdregprov"CONST HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE = &H80000002CONST REG_MULTI_SZ       = 7CONST REG_SZ             = 1CONST adCmdText          = 1Call VBMain()Function VBMain()    Err.Clear    ON ERROR RESUME NEXT    Dim sInstances(), strInstance, i, TotalCount    VBMain = EXIT_SUCCESS    If GetInstances(sInstances, TotalCount) = FALSE Then        WScript.Quit EXIT_FAILURE    End If    If IsEmptyNull(sInstances) Then         WScript.Echo "INFO: No instances are present."        VBMain = EXIT_NOINSTANCES        Exit Function    End If    For i = 0 To TotalCount-1        strInstance = sInstances(i,0)        GetFullInstance strInstance, sInstances(i,1)        If ApplyFix(sInstances(i,0), strInstance) = FALSE Then            WScript.Echo "ERROR: Could not apply the workaround on " + sInstances(i,0) + "." + vbCRLF            VBMain = EXIT_FAILURE        End If    Next    WScript.Echo "INFO: Completed processing all the running SQL instances."End FunctionFunction GetInstances(ByRef sInstances, ByRef TotalCount)    Err.Clear    ON ERROR RESUME NEXT    Dim sInstances1, sInstances2, i    Dim instCount1, instCount2    GetInstances = FALSE    If NOT GetRegValue ("", HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, "Software\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server", "InstalledInstances", sInstances1, REG_MULTI_SZ, TRUE) Then        WScript.Echo "ERROR:Failed to read SQL instances installed on the machine."        Exit Function    End If    sInstances2 = NULL    If IsOs64Bit() = TRUE Then        If NOT GetRegValue ("", HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, "Software\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server", "InstalledInstances", sInstances2, REG_MULTI_SZ, FALSE) Then            WScript.Echo "ERROR:Failed to read SQL instances installed on the machine."            Exit Function        End If    End If    If IsEmptyNull(sInstances1) AND IsEmptyNull(sInstances2) Then         WScript.Echo "INFO: No instances present."        WScript.Quit EXIT_SUCCESS    End If    instCount1 = 0    instCount2 = 0     TotalCount = 0    If IsEmptyNull(sInstances1) = FALSE Then        instCount1 = UBound(sInstances1) + 1        TotalCount = instCount1    End If    If IsEmptyNull(sInstances2) = FALSE Then        instCount2 = UBound(sInstances2) + 1        TotalCount = TotalCount + instCount2    End If    ReDim PRESERVE sInstances(TotalCount,1)    if instCount1 > 0 Then        For i = 0 To UBound(sInstances1)            sInstances(i,0) = sInstances1(i)            sInstances(i,1) = True        Next    End If    If instCount2 >0 Then        For i = 0 To UBound(sInstances2)            sInstances(i+instCount1,0) = sInstances2(i)            sInstances(i+instCount1,1) = FALSE        Next    End If    GetInstances = TRUEEnd FunctionFunction ApplyFix(ByVal strInstance, ByVal strServerName)    Err.Clear    ON ERROR RESUME NEXT    Dim objConn, objCmd, objCmd1, objRS, objRS1    Dim strCommand, strConn    Dim strBuildVersion, strProductLevel, bApplyFix    ' Initialize return value    ApplyFix = FALSE    strConn = "Provider=sqloledb;Initial Catalog=master;Integrated Security=SSPI;Data Source=" + strServerName + ";"    ' Error checking is intentionally left to keep the code short    Set objConn = CreateObject("ADODB.Connection")    Set objCmd = CreateObject("ADODB.Command")    Set objCmd1 = CreateObject("ADODB.Command")    ' Open a Connection to the master Database    objConn.Open strConn     If ErrorOccurred("Error: Could not connect to " + strInstance) Then        Set objConn = Nothing        Exit Function    End If    ' Validate the version before applying the fix    strCommand = "select SERVERPROPERTY('ProductVersion') as version, SERVERPROPERTY('productlevel') as productlevel"    objCmd.ActiveConnection = objConn    objCmd.CommandType = adCmdText    objCmd.CommandText = strCommand    Set objRS = objCmd.Execute()    If ErrorOccurred("ERROR: Could not execute """ + strCommand + """ on " + strInstance) = TRUE Then        objConn.Close()        Set objConn = Nothing        ApplyFix = FALSE        Exit Function       End If    strBuildVersion = objRS("version")    strProductLevel = UCase(objRS("productlevel"))    bApplyFix = FALSE    ' Apply the workaround only for SQL 2000 and SQL 2005 (RTM, SP1 and SP2) versions    If (CInt(Mid(strBuildVersion,1,1)) = 8) Then        bApplyFix = TRUE    ElseIf CInt(Mid(strBuildVersion,1,1)) = 9 AND (StrComp(strProductLevel,"RTM") = 0 OR StrComp(strProductLevel,"SP1") = 0 OR StrComp(strProductLevel,"SP2") = 0) Then        bApplyFix = TRUE    End If     If bApplyFix = TRUE Then        strCommand = "deny execute on sp_replwritetovarbin to public"        objCmd1.ActiveConnection = objConn        objCmd1.CommandType = adCmdText        objCmd1.CommandText = strCommand        Set objRS1 = objCmd1.Execute()        If ErrorOccurred("ERROR: Could not execute """ + strCommand + """ on " + strInstance) = FALSE Then            WScript.Echo "INFO: Successfully applied the workaround on " + strInstance + " (" + strBuildVersion + ")." + vbCRLF            ApplyFix = TRUE        End If    Else        WScript.Echo "INFO: Skipping collecting information for " + strInstance + " (" + strBuildVersion + ") as this instance is not vulnerable." + vbCRLF        ApplyFix = TRUE    End If    objConn.Close()    Set objConn = Nothing    Set objCmd = Nothing    Set objCmd1 = Nothing    Set objRS = Nothing    Set objRS1 = NothingEnd FunctionPrivate Function GetRegValue (ByVal strMachineName, ByVal hMainKey, ByVal strPath, ByVal strValueName, ByRef strValue, ByVal iValueType, ByVal b32bit)    Err.Clear    ON ERROR RESUME NEXT    Dim objLocator, objServices, objRegistry, objCtx    Dim sMultiStrings, lRc    GetRegValue = TRUE    'Connect to WMI and get an object to STDREGPROV class.    Set objCtx = CreateObject("WbemScripting.SWbemNamedValueSet")    If b32bit = TRUE Then        objCtx.Add "__ProviderArchitecture", 32    Else        objCtx.Add "__ProviderArchitecture", 64    End If    objCtx.Add "__RequiredArchitecture", TRUE    set objLocator = createobject("wbemscripting.swbemlocator")    set objServices = objLocator.connectserver(strMachineName,DEFAULTNAMESPACE, "", "",,,,objCtx)    set objRegistry = objServices.get(STDREGPROV)    If ErrorOccurred ("ERROR: Could not connect to WMI namespace " + DEFAULTNAMESPACE) Then        GetRegValue = FALSE        Exit Function    End If     lRc = 0    Select Case iValueType        ' We only care about REG_MULTI_SZ        Case REG_MULTI_SZ            strValue = ""            lRC = objRegistry.GetMultiStringValue(hMainKey, strPath, strValueName, sMultiStrings)            strValue = sMultiStrings        Case REG_SZ            strValue = ""            lRC = objRegistry.GetStringValue(hMainKey, strPath, strValueName, strValue)        Case Else            GetRegValue = FALSE    End Select    If lRc = 2 Or lRc = 3 Then        GetRegValue = TRUE        strValue = ""    ElseIf Err.Number OR lRc <> 0 Then        GetRegValue = FALSE    End If    Set objLocator = Nothing    Set objServices = Nothing    Set objRegistry = NothingEnd FunctionFunction IsEmptyNull(sCheck)    IsEmptyNull = FALSE    If IsObject(sCheck) Then Exit Function    If IsArray(sCheck) Then Exit Function    If VarType(sCheck) = vbEmpty Then IsEmptyNull = TRUE : Exit Function    If VarType(sCheck) = vbNull Then IsEmptyNull = TRUE : Exit Function    If sCheck = "" Then IsEmptyNull = TRUEEnd FunctionPrivate Function ErrorOccurred (ByVal strIn)    If Err.Number <> 0 Then        WScript.Echo strIn        WScript.Echo "ERROR: 0x" & Err.Number & " - " & Err.Description        Err.Clear        ErrorOccurred = TRUE    Else        ErrorOccurred = FALSE    End IfEnd FunctionFunction IsOs64Bit()    Err.Clear    ON ERROR RESUME NEXT    Dim objProc    Set objProc = GetObject("winmgmts:root\cimv2:Win32_Processor='cpu0'")    If objProc.Architecture = 0 Then        IsOs64Bit = FALSE    Else        IsOs64Bit = TRUE    End IfEnd FunctionFunction GetFullInstance (ByRef strInstanceName, ByVal b32bit)    Err.Clear    ON ERROR RESUME NEXT     Dim objServices, objClusters, objCluster    Dim strMacName, isEmpty    Dim strKey, strInstID    GetFullInstance = TRUE    If strComp(UCase(strInstanceName), "MICROSOFT##SSEE", 1) = 0 Then        strInstanceName = "np:\\.\pipe\mssql$microsoft##ssee\sql\query"        Exit Function    End if    strMacName = ""    Set objServices = GetObject("winmgmts:root\cimv2")    ' Query Cluster service    Set objClusters = objServices.ExecQuery ("select * from win32_service where Name='ClusSvc' AND Started = TRUE")    isEmpty = TRUE    If Err.Number = 0 Then        For each objCluster in objClusters            isEmpty = FALSE        Next    End If    Set objServices = Nothing    Set objClusters = Nothing    If isEmpty = TRUE Then        strInstanceName = BuildInstanceName (".", strInstanceName)        Exit Function    End If    ' If we reach here that means the machine is a clustered node.    ' So lets query registry to determine whether the SQL instance is clustered or not.    ' For SQL 2000 query the following value    ' HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server\<InstanceName>\Cluster    ' ClusterName    strKey = "SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server\" + strInstanceName + "\Cluster"    GetRegValue "", HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, strKey, "ClusterName", strMacName, REG_SZ, b32bit    If StrComp(strMacName, "") <> 0 Then        strInstanceName = BuildInstanceName (strMacName, strInstanceName)        Exit Function    End If    strKey = "SOFTWARE\Microsoft\" + strInstanceName + "\Cluster"    GetRegValue "", HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, strKey, "ClusterName", strMacName, REG_SZ, b32bit    If StrComp(strMacName, "") <> 0 Then        strInstanceName = BuildInstanceName (strMacName, strInstanceName)        Exit Function    End If    ' Lets try querying the registry value for 2005/2008 instances    'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server\Instance Names\SQL    ' RegValue = InstanceName    strInstID = ""    strKey = "SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server\Instance Names\SQL"    GetRegValue "", HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, strKey, strInstanceName, strInstID, REG_SZ, b32bit    If StrComp(strInstID, "") = 0 Then        ' If this key doesnt exist, then return back as a SQL 2000 local instance        strInstanceName = BuildInstanceName (".", strInstanceName)        Exit Function    End If    strKey = "SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server\" + strInstID + "\Cluster"    GetRegValue "", HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, strKey, "ClusterName", strMacName, REG_SZ, b32bit    If StrComp(strMacName, "") = 0 Then        strMacName = "."    End If    strInstanceName = BuildInstanceName (strMacName, strInstanceName)End FunctionFunction BuildInstanceName (ByVal strMachineName, ByVal strInstanceName)    Dim strPrefix    strPrefix = ""    If StrComp(strMachineName, ".") = 0 Then        strPrefix = "lpc:"    End If    If strComp(UCase(strInstanceName), "MSSQLSERVER", 1) = 0 Then        BuildInstanceName = strPrefix + strMachineName    Else        BuildInstanceName = strPrefix + strMachineName + "\" + strInstanceName    End ifEnd Function

For more information about CScript.exe, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb490887.aspxNote We recommend that you not use this script if a security update has been provided and you have installed it.

KNOWN ISSUES THAT MAY OCCUR WHEN YOU RUN THIS SCRIPT

Issue 1

When you run the script, you receive the following error message:

ERROR: Could not execute "deny execute on sp_replwritetovarbin to public" on <instancename> ERROR: 0x-2147217900 - Cannot find the object 'sp_replwritetovarbin', because it does not exist or you do not have permission. ERROR: Could not apply the workaround on <instancename>.

Cause 1

You receive this error message if you do not have the permissions that are required to apply the change. This error message indicates that you were able to successfully log in to the instance "<instancename>."This error message typically occurs in SQL Server Express in which the "Built-In\Users" group has a login to the database by default. However, this group is not a member of the sysadmin role. This error message may also occur if you dropped the sp_replwritetovarbin procedure. This was the recommendation from a third-party report. We do not recommend dropping the stored procedure. Instead, we recommend that you apply this resolution.

Resolution 1

Make sure that the account that you connect with is a member of the sysadmin role on that instance of the database. If the account is not a member, either add the user that you are connecting as to the sysadmin role, or use another user account. For SQL Server 2005 and earlier, the "Built-in\Administrators" group is a member of the sysadmin role by default. When you run this script on Windows Vista or on Windows Server 2008, make sure that you run it from an “elevated” command prompt.

Issue 2

If you run this script in SQL Server 2005, you receive the following error message:

Error: Could not connect to <instancename> ERROR: 0x-2147217843 - Login failed for user '<user>'. ERROR: Could not apply the workaround on <instancename>.

Cause 2

You receive this error message if you were not able to connect to the instance "<instancename>" even though this instance exists.This error message typically occurs when you connect to Windows Internal Database or to Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Edition (Windows) instances. Typically, no user accounts have logins to these databases.

Resolution 2

Make sure that the account that you use to run the script has a login on the database that is a member of the sysadmin role. We do not recommend that you add individual users to Windows Internal Database and to Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Edition (Windows) databases. If you do this, the users that you add may interfere with the ordinary operation of these databases. In this case, make sure that you connect from an account that is a member of the sysadmin role. The "Built-in\Administrators" group in Windows is typically a member of the sysadmin role by default in SQL Server 2005 and in earlier versions. When you run this script on Windows Vista or on Windows Server 2008, make sure that you run it from an "elevated" command prompt.

Issue 3

You may notice an instance of a database named MICROSOFT##SSEE. However, you did not install this database.

Cause 3

This database is the Windows Internal Database, also known as "SQL Server Embedded Edition," or sometimes known as "Windows Internal Database" or "Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Edition (Windows)." It is installed with some products from Microsoft, including SharePoint Services.

Resolution 3

The workaround script is designed to function with the Windows Internal Database. No action is necessary on your part. Some applications do not remove the Windows Internal Database when they are uninstalled. For more information about how to remove the Windows Internal Database, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

920277 Windows Internal Database is not listed in the Add or Remove Programs tool and is not removed when you remove Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 from the computer

Issue 4

When you run the script, you receive the following error message:

Error: Could not connect to .\<instancename>ERROR: 0x-2147467259 - [DBNETLIB][ConnectionOpen (Connect()).]SQL Server does not exist or access denied

Cause 4

You receive this error message if the following conditions are true:

  • You have a 32-bit version of SQL Server 2000 installed on an x64-bit operating system.

  • You have a 64-bit version of SQL Server 2005 or of SQL Server 2008 installed on the computer.

This error message occurs when the script uses the 64-bit version of the dbmslpcn.dll file. This version cannot communicate with the WoW instances of SQL Server 2000.

Resolution 4

Use the 32-bit version of the cscript.exe file from the %WINDOWS%\SysWOW64 folder to start the script. This loads the 32-bit version of the dbmslpcn.dll file that can detect WoW instances.

References

For more information about how to identify your SQL Server version and edition, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

321185How to identify your SQL Server version and edition

More Information

The following table lists significant technical revisions to this article. The revision number and the last review date in this article might indicate minor editorial revisions or structural revisions to this article that are not included in the table.

Date

Revisions

December 31, 2008

Includes an updated script that detects SQL Server failover clustering instances.

December 30, 2008

Includes an updated script that detects 32-bit versions of SQL Server running on 64-bit versions of Windows.

Need more help?

Want more options?

Explore subscription benefits, browse training courses, learn how to secure your device, and more.

Communities help you ask and answer questions, give feedback, and hear from experts with rich knowledge.