Microsoft KB Archive/827257

= Software update to prevent the processing of XML messages that contain DTDs for the SOAP Toolkit =

Article ID: 827257

Article Last Modified on 8/4/2004

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft SOAP Toolkit 3.0

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SUMMARY
This article discusses a software update that permits XML Web services that are built by using the SOAP Toolkit to reject the processing of XML messages that contain Document Type Definitions (DTDs).



RESOLUTION
Download the software update that causes XML Web services that are built by using the SOAP Toolkit to reject the processing of XML messages that contain Document Type Definitions (DTDs). The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:

Download the SOAPSDK3.0-KB827257-X86.exe package now. Release Date: December 11, 2003

For additional information about how to download Microsoft Support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

119591 How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services

Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help to prevent any unauthorized changes to the file. SOAPSDK3.0-KB827257-X86.exe



STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the &quot;Applies to&quot; section of this article.



MORE INFORMATION
With Document Type Definitions (DTDs), you can write markup rules that describe the structure of XML documents and that you can use to validate the structure of those documents. When XML 1.0 was originally specified, the DTD syntax (which is not XML-based) was inherited mainly from earlier markup languages, such as SGML and HTML.

DTDs do not support XML namespaces well. The process by which DTDs are parsed does not enforce adherence to a namespace. As an alternative to DTDs, you can describe the XML document structure by using the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) XML Schema language. This language offers the same benefits as DTDs, but also resolves some of the limitations of DTDs. DTDs are mainly useful when you are working with older XML applications that require DTDs and do not support XML schemas.

In some cases, you may want to reject XML messages that contain DTDs. For example, the SOAP 1.1 specification states that a SOAP message must not contain a DTD. Therefore, a SOAP processor can reject any SOAP message that contains a DTD. This update causes XML Web services that are built by using the SOAP Toolkit to reject the processing of XML messages that contain Document Type Definitions (DTDs).

