Executive brief
A vulnerability in the Windows NT Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Locator service allows an attacker to disrupt system operations. The RPC Locator is a background service that helps different software components communicate across a network. An exploit could cause this service to crash or hang, potentially leading to a denial of service that prevents legitimate users or applications from accessing network resources.
Technical details
A denial of service vulnerability exists in the RPCSS.EXE program, which functions as the RPC Locator service in Microsoft Windows NT. The vulnerability allows a remote, unauthenticated attacker to send malicious requests to the RPC service, causing it to fail or become unresponsive. This disrupts the ability of the operating system to resolve RPC service locations, impacting distributed applications and system management tools. The issue is reachable over the network without user interaction. Microsoft addressed this issue in legacy knowledge base article Q162567.
Affected products
- Microsoft Windows NT
Timeline
- 1997-02-07: disclosed