Microsoft posts patch for IIS Web Server

Microsoft has unveiled a patch for a new security breach in its InternetInformation Server (IIS) Web server, dubbed the "GET" vulnerability. Thecompany says that the vulnerability could allow denial-of-service attacksto be mounted against web servers using Windows NT Server.

The vulnerability involves the HTTP GET method, which is used to obtaininformation from the Web server. GET requests that have been purposefullymodified can create a denial of service situation that consumes all server resources,causing the machine to hang. This situation cannot happen accidentally. Microsoft notes that this vulnerability does not allow dataon the server to be compromised, nor does it allow any privileges on it tobe usurped.

Microsoft has released the following IIS hot-fixes: