CVE-2001-0373 in Windows
Summary
by MITRE
The default configuration of the Dr. Watson program in Windows NT and Windows 2000 generates user.dmp crash dump files with world-readable permissions, which could allow a local user to gain access to sensitive information.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/07/2017
The vulnerability described in CVE-2001-0373 represents a critical configuration flaw in the Windows NT and Windows 2000 operating systems that stems from improper access control implementation within the Dr. Watson crash reporting mechanism. This issue manifests when the system generates memory dump files during application crashes or system failures, specifically creating user.dmp files with overly permissive access controls that grant read access to all users on the system. The root cause of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-276, which categorizes improper file permissions as a fundamental security weakness in system design.
Dr. Watson serves as the default Windows application crash handler responsible for generating memory dumps when programs encounter critical errors or system failures. These memory dump files contain comprehensive snapshots of the system's memory state at the time of the crash, including potentially sensitive information such as passwords, encryption keys, personal data, and application-specific secrets. When these files are created with world-readable permissions, they effectively become accessible to any user account on the system, regardless of their privilege level or intended access rights. The vulnerability operates at the file system level and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege that forms the foundation of secure system design.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as local users can exploit this weakness to extract sensitive data from memory dumps without requiring elevated privileges or specialized tools. Attackers can leverage this weakness to perform reconnaissance activities, gather intelligence about running applications, and potentially extract authentication tokens or other credentials that may have been cached in memory. This vulnerability particularly affects systems where multiple users share the same machine or where unprivileged accounts exist, as the memory dumps could contain information from other user sessions or applications running with higher privileges. The implications of this vulnerability align with ATT&CK technique T1005, which covers data from local system storage, and T1083, which involves system information discovery.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing proper file access controls and system configuration management practices. System administrators should ensure that memory dump files are created with restrictive permissions that limit access to authorized personnel only, typically requiring administrative privileges or specific security contexts. The recommended approach involves modifying the Dr. Watson configuration to enforce proper access control lists on generated dump files, ensuring that only system administrators or specific security services can access these sensitive files. Additionally, organizations should implement regular security audits to verify that system configurations maintain appropriate access controls and that memory dump files are stored in secure locations with proper file permissions. This vulnerability underscores the importance of security-by-design principles and demonstrates how default configurations can introduce significant risks when not properly reviewed and hardened against potential exploitation.