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SQL Slammer

On January 25 2003 at 5:30 a.m. GMT, the SQL Slammer worm began began infecting computers running a very popular Microsoft database program, Microsoft SQL Server.

To infect a computer, the worm first sent itself to a specific communications port of the computer, one the SQL Server used to send and receive requests. When the computer attempted to process the "request," the worm caused a data buffer in the computer to overflow. The overflow in turn caused the computer to install Sapphire, which then sent copies of itself over the Internet. And so it went, computer after computer, with astonishing speed and efficiency.

The virus began infecting a widening circle of computers in a contagion that zoomed around the world, doubling every 8.5 seconds. By 5:40 a.m., just 10 minutes after it was unleashed, SQL slammer had spread to at least 70 000 computers or approximately 90% of all the vulnerable machines in the world. The worm's paltry few hundred bytes carried no malicious payload and so deleted no data or software. But the sheer torrent of data coursing over the Internet consumed nearly all available capacity, crashing networks, bank ATMs, and flight-scheduling systems.

Three tools for fighting SQL Slammer worm are now provided my Microsoft. Versions change dayly and thus all of them should be downloaded  directly from Microsoft.

SQL Scan: Can be used to find vulnerable instances of SQL Server using network scan

SQL Check: Can determine what vulnerable product are you running

SQL  Critical Update:  SQL Critical Update scans the computer on which it is running for instances of SQL Server 2000 and MSDE 2000 that are vulnerable to the Slammer worm, updating the affected files. SQL Critical Update runs on computers running Windows NT 4.0 or higher.

The information below is adapted from Microsoft site.

SQL Scan

SQL Scan (Sqlscan.exe) scans a range of IP addresses for instances of SQL Server 2000 and MSDE 2000, and identifies instances that may be vulnerable to the Slammer worm. SQL Scan runs on computers running Windows 2000 or higher and can identify instances running on Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, or Windows XP.

Instances of SQL Server 2000 with Service Pack 2 (SP2) and security patch MS02-039, MS02-043, MS02-056, or MS02-061, or instances with SP3 or later, are not vulnerable. Computers running SQL Server 7.0 and earlier are not vulnerable.

SQL Scan does not locate instances of SQL Server that are running on Windows 98 or Windows ME. SQL Scan does not detect instances of SQL Server that were started from the command prompt.

NOTE: Shutdown of an infected SQL Server instance may not complete successfully. You may need to use system management tools to terminate an infected process.

SQL Scan requires one of the following items as input:

1. A domain
2. A range of IP addresses
3. A single machine name

SQL Scan must be run with domain administrator privileges when it is used to scan remote machines. Otherwise, it should be run with local administrator privileges.

SQL Scan will not return a conclusive result if either the ssnetlib.dll or sqlserver.exe file has been renamed. If these files have been renamed, you should change the names back to their original name.

SQL Scan is not supported on clustered servers. SQL instances must be manually stopped and disabled on clustered servers.

SQL Check

SQL Check scans the computer on which it is running for instances of SQL Server 2000 and MSDE 2000 that are vulnerable to the Slammer worm. SQL Check runs on computers running Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000 and Windows XP. On computers running Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000 and Windows XP it stops and disables the SQL Server and SQL Agent services. On computers running Windows 98 and Windows ME it identifies vulnerable instances but does not stop or disable any services.

Instances of SQL Server 2000 with Service Pack 2 (SP2) and security patch MS02-039, MS02-043, MS02-056, or MS02-061, or instances with SP3 or later, are not vulnerable.

SQL Critical Update

SQL Critical Update scans the computer on which it is running for instances of SQL Server 2000 and MSDE 2000 that are vulnerable to the Slammer worm, updating the affected files. SQL Critical Update runs on computers running Windows NT 4.0 or higher.

The SQL Critical Update tool which will patch localized versions of SQL Server and MSDE.
 

Instructions

SQL Scan:

1. Save the file "SQLScanPkg.exe" to a directory on your computer.
2. Run SQLScanPkg.exe.
3. Accept the license agreement.
4. Choose an installation folder and click Finish. The folder will be created if it does not exist.
5. Read the readme.txt file located in the installation folder for instructions on running sqlscan.exe.

SQL Check:

1. Save the file "SQLCheckPkg.exe" to a directory on your computer.
2. Run SQLCheckPkg.exe.
3. Accept the license agreement.
4. Choose an installation folder and click Finish. The folder will be created if it does not exist.
5. Read the readme.txt file located in the installation folder for instructions on running sqlcheck.exe.

SQL Critical Update:

See the readme_SQLHotfixPkg.txt file below for complete instructions.

Last modified: February 28, 2008