📄 Description (English)
Microsoft Windows Server Buffer Overflow Vulnerability — Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 contains a buffer overflow vulnerability in Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 which allows remote attackers to execute code via a long header beginning with "If: <http://" in a PROPFIND request.
🤖 AI Executive Summary
CVE-2017-7269 is a critical buffer overflow vulnerability in Microsoft IIS 6.0 on Windows Server 2003 R2 that allows remote code execution via a specially crafted PROPFIND request with a malicious 'If:' header. This vulnerability has been actively exploited in the wild since at least July 2016, with public exploit code readily available. Despite Windows Server 2003 being end-of-life, many legacy systems remain in production environments, making this a significant threat. The CVSS score of 9.0 reflects the ease of exploitation and the potential for complete system compromise without authentication.
📄 Description (Arabic)
🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: Apr 8, 2026 22:12
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
This vulnerability poses significant risk to Saudi organizations still running legacy Windows Server 2003 R2 systems with IIS 6.0. Government agencies under NCA oversight may have legacy web applications on outdated infrastructure. Banking and financial institutions regulated by SAMA could be affected if legacy internal portals or middleware still run on IIS 6.0. Energy sector organizations including ARAMCO and its subsidiaries, as well as utility companies, may have SCADA-adjacent or industrial control system web interfaces running on legacy IIS. Healthcare institutions with legacy medical record systems and telecom operators with older management portals are also at risk. The availability of public exploits and Metasploit modules makes this trivially exploitable, increasing the threat to any Saudi organization with internet-facing or internally accessible IIS 6.0 instances.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Government
Banking
Energy
Healthcare
Telecommunications
Education
Retail
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
9.2
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS:
1. Identify all Windows Server 2003 R2 systems running IIS 6.0 across the environment using asset discovery tools
2. Disable the WebDAV service on all IIS 6.0 instances immediately if not required: run 'cscript %systemdrive%\inetpub\adminscripts\adsutil.vbs set w3svc/WebSvc/EnableWebDAV 0'
3. Block PROPFIND HTTP method at WAF/reverse proxy/load balancer level
4. Isolate affected servers from the internet and restrict network access to trusted IPs only
PATCHING GUIDANCE:
5. Microsoft released KB3197835 (MS17-016) — apply this security update where possible
6. Plan immediate migration from Windows Server 2003 R2 to a supported operating system (Windows Server 2019/2022) as the platform is end-of-life
7. Migrate web applications from IIS 6.0 to IIS 10.0 or later
DETECTION RULES:
8. Monitor IIS logs for PROPFIND requests containing 'If: <http://' with abnormally long headers (>200 bytes)
9. Deploy IDS/IPS signatures for CVE-2017-7269 (Snort SID available)
10. Monitor for unusual process spawning from w3wp.exe (IIS worker process)
11. Implement network segmentation to limit lateral movement from compromised legacy servers
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. تحديد جميع أنظمة Windows Server 2003 R2 التي تشغل IIS 6.0 عبر البيئة باستخدام أدوات اكتشاف الأصول
2. تعطيل خدمة WebDAV على جميع مثيلات IIS 6.0 فوراً إذا لم تكن مطلوبة
3. حظر طريقة HTTP PROPFIND على مستوى جدار حماية تطبيقات الويب/الوكيل العكسي/موازن الأحمال
4. عزل الخوادم المتأثرة عن الإنترنت وتقييد الوصول إلى الشبكة للعناوين الموثوقة فقط
إرشادات التصحيح:
5. أصدرت مايكروسوفت التحديث الأمني KB3197835 (MS17-016) — قم بتطبيقه حيثما أمكن
6. خطط للترحيل الفوري من Windows Server 2003 R2 إلى نظام تشغيل مدعوم (Windows Server 2019/2022) حيث أن المنصة منتهية الدعم
7. ترحيل تطبيقات الويب من IIS 6.0 إلى IIS 10.0 أو أحدث
قواعد الكشف:
8. مراقبة سجلات IIS لطلبات PROPFIND التي تحتوي على 'If: <http://' مع رؤوس طويلة بشكل غير طبيعي
9. نشر توقيعات IDS/IPS لـ CVE-2017-7269
10. مراقبة العمليات غير العادية التي تنشأ من w3wp.exe (عملية عامل IIS)
11. تنفيذ تجزئة الشبكة للحد من الحركة الجانبية من الخوادم القديمة المخترقة
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
ECC 2-3-1 (Patch Management)
ECC 2-2-1 (Asset Management)
ECC 2-5-1 (Network Security)
ECC 2-6-1 (Web Application Security)
ECC 2-1-3 (Vulnerability Management)
🔵 SAMA CSF
SAMA CSF 3.3.3 (Patch Management)
SAMA CSF 3.3.5 (Vulnerability Management)
SAMA CSF 3.3.7 (Network Security Management)
SAMA CSF 3.1.3 (Asset Classification and Control)
SAMA CSF 3.3.11 (End-of-Life Systems Management)
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
A.8.8 (Management of technical vulnerabilities)
A.8.9 (Configuration management)
A.8.20 (Networks security)
A.8.23 (Web filtering)
A.5.2 (Information security roles and responsibilities)
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0
PCI DSS 6.3.3 (Install critical security patches within one month)
PCI DSS 6.4 (Protect web-facing applications against known attacks)
PCI DSS 11.3 (Perform internal and external penetration testing)
PCI DSS 2.2 (Develop configuration standards for all system components)
🔗 References & Sources 0
No references.
📦 Affected Products / CPE 1 entries
Microsoft:Internet Information Services (IIS)