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Oops! Missed One Fix — Windows Attacks Under Way
Posted by
timothy
on Wed Dec 10, 2008 03:31 PM
from the don't-blame-microsoft-alone dept.
from the don't-blame-microsoft-alone dept.
CWmike writes "Microsoft says attackers are now exploiting a critical Windows bug that it didn't get around to fixing in its biggest batch of security patches in more than five years, issued yesterday. Microsoft said that 'limited and targeted' attacks are in progress by hackers exploiting an unpatched vulnerability in the WordPad Text Converter, a tool included with all versions of Windows. If Microsoft patches the WordPad problem on its monthly schedule, the first opportunity for fixing the flaw would be Jan. 9, 2009." Update: 12/10 22:28 GMT by T : OK, there might have been more than one: reader Simon (S2) writes "There is an even more serious flaw ... From SANS: 'There is a 0-day exploit for Internet Explorer circulating in the wild. At this point in time it does not appear to be wildly used, but as the code is publicly available we can expect that this will happen very soon. This is a brand new exploit that is *not* patched with MS08-073 that was released yesterday. I can confirm that the exploit works in a fully patched Windows XP machine. The exploit is a typical heap overflow that appears to be exploiting something in the XML parser.'"
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Experts Say To Switch Browsers In Light of IE Vulnerability 455 comments
It appears that the exploit in IE briefly mentioned a few days ago is causing a serious reaction: SteveAU writes "Microsoft has begun flooding media outlets with information advising users to switch to an alternate browser while a serious security flaw is being patched. The flaw, which affects all versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer, is manifested via malware and has infected over 6,000 sites thus far. Microsoft states: 'The vulnerability exists as an invalid pointer reference in the data-binding function of Internet Explorer. When data binding is enabled (which is the default state), it is possible under certain conditions for an object to be released without updating the array length, leaving the potential to access the deleted object's memory space. This can cause Internet Explorer to exit unexpectedly, in a state that is exploitable.'" According to the BBC report, though, Microsoft itself is only asking that users be "vigilant while it investigated and prepared an emergency patch"; it's outside experts who say to dump IE (at least for now).
Update: 12/16 21:11 GMT by KD : Microsoft will issue an emergency critical update for IE tomorrow.
Update: 12/16 21:11 GMT by KD : Microsoft will issue an emergency critical update for IE tomorrow.
[+]
Technology: Microsoft Rushes Internet Explorer Patch 376 comments
drquoz writes "Last week, it was reported that a critical security flaw was found in Internet Explorer. On Tuesday, experts were advising users not to use IE until a patch could be released. On Wednesday, Microsoft released the patch. An interesting quote from the article: 'Kandek suggests that Microsoft is at a disadvantage in updating Internet Explorer because its browser doesn't have a built-in update mechanism like other browser makers. Mozilla, for instance, just released Firefox 3.05 to Firefox users through its auto-update system.'"
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I don't understand (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:I don't understand (Score:5, Funny)
I wondered this as well, it couldn't very well be remote code execution or privilege escalation or anything like that, so I opened up the article. It appears that Wordp
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re:I don't understand (Score:5, Informative)
How can code in the wordpad text editor leave a machine vulnerable?
It can be used to execute a malicious program that makes the system vulnerable. Wordpad just works as a launcher for the malicious program.
Parent
Re:I don't understand (Score:5, Informative)
It's easier to get someone to open a .wri or .doc file than a .exe file.
Parent
Re:I don't understand (Score:4, Informative)
TextEdit can read and write word docs too. It supports rich text.
Parent
Re:I don't understand (Score:4, Insightful)
Parent
Re:I don't understand (Score:4, Insightful)
This attitude is why Microsoft products have such a poor record for stability and security.
Computers SHOULD be designed for people who have no knowledge of the intricacies of operating systems.
Computers SHOULD be designed to be safe for beginners to use.
Computers SHOULD be designed so an unintended error does not result in a compromised system.
Computers SHOULD be designed to be robust enough to use without fear.
Operating system progress has virtually halted for more than a decade because of the Windows monopoly. THAT is the problem here, not users trying to come to grips with a needlessly complicated and inconsistent tool.
I HATE the way Microsoft's evangelists have switched to this "Blame the user" mentality to try shift attention from their failures. It's hypocritical, dishonest, and most of all, it allows them to sit on their laurels and continue serving up variations of the same stale OS they've been facelifting for the past 15 years.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re:I don't understand (Score:4, Informative)
Parent
Re:I don't understand (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re:I don't understand (Score:5, Funny)
This information is in the article, BTW.
In the what, now?
Parent
Re:I don't understand (Score:5, Informative)
The attacker sends you a .wri file in an email. By default this will be opened using WordPad. WordPad will attempt to decode the Word97 content of the .wri file and in doing so will trigger some sort of attack code (the article and security advisory are vague about this part).
Basically, don't open weird files that you find on the internet.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Is it just me or would this attack be impossible if Windows used mime types correctly.
E.g. On Linux it generally doesnt matter what the file extension is, it always opens in the correct program due to the mime type being used to determine the program and not the file extension.
Re:I don't understand (Score:5, Funny)
It's very simple, really; the attacker breaks into your home or office, knocks you unconscious with a blunt instrument, boots up your computer and opens Wordpad.
Parent
Re:I don't understand (Score:5, Funny)
Oh please. Wordpad is like Notepad, only it can't make up its mind whether to be richtext or plaintext and it doesn't open files when you drop them into it.
Parent
Re:I don't understand (Score:4, Informative)
Oh please. Wordpad is like Notepad, only it can't make up its mind whether to be richtext or plaintext and it doesn't open files when you drop them into it.
Don't drop the files into the 'document area', drop them onto the 'menu bar' area and they'll open.
I f*cking hate wordpad, but it's the only thing that recognizes and saves unix line-endings and is installed on every windows box since the beginning of time.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Yeah, but it changes them to DOS format when you save, with no option to keep the UNIX line endings :(
Good thing vim has a windows version.
That's good thinking... (Score:5, Insightful)
Holding back your zero day exploits until directly after the MS Patchday...if your bug hasn't been removed, then you have up to a full month of time to abuse it.
Clever.
Re:That's good thinking... (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re:That's good thinking... (Score:5, Interesting)
Not at all. You see - exploits are only developed by analyzing patches. What you have here is a very advanced malware developer. For they had gazed on the patch and, instead of seeing the vulnerabilities being patched, they saw the one that was not. It's all very Zen.
Actually - it's not the first time [com.com] Microsoft's patch cycle has been gamed.
Parent
no problem (Score:5, Funny)
::yawn:: nothing to see here, as usual. (Score:5, Informative)
From the article (i know I know, slashdot...), Windows XP SP3, Vista, and Windows Server 2008 aren't vulnerable. I didn't read how the exploit actually works to see if it can realistically be used to attack Windows Server 2003 (which is quite popular), but for people at home, if your machine is up to date, you're fine.
So seriously, whats the big deal?
Re:::yawn:: nothing to see here, as usual. (Score:4, Insightful)
exploiting the weak link in the chain: your average user
Parent
Re:::yawn:: nothing to see here, as usual. (Score:5, Insightful)
I wouldn't really think long before opening a .wri file. I must admit. .wri doesn't have script etc. capability to start with.
I am sure most admins didn't set policies about .wri attachments like they did for .doc stuff either. It makes it a big threat since for most people, wri (or RTF) is basically styled text file, nothing else.
Parent
Re:::yawn:: nothing to see here, as usual. (Score:5, Informative)
Well, considering that like many businesses that rely on specialized pieces of software to function (mine in particular being a law firm), we have held off on deploying both XP SP3 and not even put thought into Vista because our document management software and change-tracking/metadata scrubbing software are incompatible with anything above XP SP2 for the moment.
We can't keep entirely up to date because it breaks the software my firm relies on, and replacing them isn't an option. From my experience at the law firms I've worked at, they move at one of two speeds: slowly or not at all.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
He did specify .wri attachments you know, but the axe thing is equally good in my books.
Re:::yawn:: nothing to see here, as usual. (Score:4, Informative)
If you have servers that old that you can't upgrade, thats fine (I mean, Win2k Server is still supported until 2010 I think? So thats fair).
Just be careful about what you do while you're logged in (as you always should on a server anyway). I agree it IS unacceptable for something like this to happen on a supported OS, but my original post merely pointed out that its not like everyone will get hacked by doing nothing tomorrow. It only affects 2 versions of Windows if you're up to date, and only if you touch a malicious file. The people using these 2 versions still probably know what they're doing (I don't think grandma is using WinServer 2003)
Parent
Details to come... (Score:5, Funny)
Corrupt Memory, and it works on server 2003 (Score:4, Informative)
The info page shows that it does indeed affect Server 2003, one of the more populat versions out there, as noted by another comment
Re:Corrupt Memory, and it works on server 2003 (Score:5, Informative)
If you have an MSDN Subscription and are a developer, thats actually your best bet (well, now its Windows Server 2008, which is superior in every way, but...)
Windows Server editions have been better desktops than their actual "home" or "professional" editions for a while. The only drawback is they are harder to setup initially (2003 and 2008 are fairly locked down by default), and that they have higher hardware requirements (but use the hardware better). Oh, and the price, of course (but if you use it for development purpose, you can use the MSDN version. Even without that, its expensive, but its not 10 grands either)
Add that some stuff only works on Windows Server (let say, Sharepoint), and unless you feel like running Windows XP or Vista, only to spend 99% of your time in a VM, Windows Server is a vastly superior option.
Parent
OMG! RLY? How will the human Race Survive?!?!?11 (Score:3, Informative)
Control Panel - Folder Options - File Types - WRI - Edit - Open - Change to Microsoft Word.
Problem solved.
Next!
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
I'd recommend Abiword for "Wordpad" fans.http://www.abisource.com/download/ , it is not a "build from source" thing, it is tiny and comes with a installer. Of course, it is a full feature Word processor, not a crippled "Write".
MS figured people happily uses Write for their everyday stuff and even offices so they crippled it and shipped "Wordpad", the naming itself is like "This is like Notepad, use real Word for writing things".
Just install all of the plugins package, it does open and even save them.
Re:WordPad exploitable? (Score:4, Informative)
Send a specially crafted word document (i.e. code embedded) and trick the user into opening it with WordPad (i.e. using the .wri file extension).
Parent
Re:WordPad exploitable? (Score:5, Informative)
Its not remotely exploitable. From the article, a user has to open a maliciously crafted file. So its just the fairly typical exploit where a document viewer poorly handles documents it can open.
It needs user interaction to work, someone has to open a file that they don't trust (I guess it MAY be possible to trick a user into opening the file from the web, since there is a Word viewer that potentially use the same file converter that is responsible for the exploit).
Also, XP SP3, Vista and WinServer 2008 aren't vulnerable at all.
Parent
Re:WordPad exploitable? (Score:5, Insightful)
People know not to open executable files (.exe) and even for more obtuse executables (.scr, .cmd) most systems and mail clients are smart enough to warn that it's executable content.
For data files like .jpg or .wri, neither the user or the system probably consider the file dangerous. So these type of exploits should be considered more dangerous than the completely-idiotic "e-mail people virus executables".
Especially considering many of these viruses propagate through address books (ie: trusted contacts)
But yes, at least it's not a completely automatic remote exploit.
Parent
Re:WordPad exploitable? Just click (Score:4, Funny)
You mean all someone has to do is click on an attachment called "biggest breasts ever.wri"? Oh, NOBODY would be that dumb!
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
No. Someone has to click an attachment called "biggest breasts ever.wri" while, at the SAME TIME, running a non-updated version of Windows, Windows 2000, or Windows Server 2003. You reduce your attack vector by a significant amount here.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
... while, at the SAME TIME, running a non-updated version of Windows, Windows 2000, or Windows Server 2003.
Does it have to be with the same hand?
j/k
Re:WordPad exploitable? Just click (Score:5, Funny)
I'd put a notice at the top of the file. "This naughty image is only compatible with the following versions of Windows: ..."
I'm sure many victims would kindly downgrade as needed to make my exploit work.
Parent
Re:WordPad exploitable? (Score:4, Insightful)
IIRC Wordpad can handle some embeded objects in .rtf (and other??) files. I'm guessing the exploit takes advantage of a vulnerability with one of those embedded types or the handling of them.
Just a guess, and I'm posting before reading.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
This type of bug relies on "glitches" in the memory management (simplifying it a bit...) of the program, not on any high-level misses in the actual mechanisms of the code. Any program written in a programming language without automatic memory management can be exploited in this way, if the programmer "misses his step" somewhere. They can also be devilishly hard to find, because data can be structured and handled in memory in very complex and abstract ways.
Re:WordPad exploitable? (Score:5, Informative)
Word files are not binary executables. They are (pre OOXML) binary file formats. I don't know what the exact exploit is (probably some sort of buffer overflow) but the idea is to craft a Word document such that it contains executable code and exploits the flaw in wordpad that causes the executable code to execute.
Parent
Re:WordPad exploitable? (Score:5, Informative)
Wordpad does not have the capability to execute those macros, because it does not have an embedded VBA interpreter. The macros are binary gibberish without the VBA runtime, much like a Perl file is just text without the Perl interpreter.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Actually it's .wri files, which haven't been savable in Windows since 3.1.
You can rename or Save As to whatever.wri in any version of Windows. .doc extension, but only if you don't have Word installed (which is not vulnerable). To broaden the susceptible audience, .wri will likely be used an attack because it is always associated to the
Inferring from the content of the advisory at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/960906.mspx [microsoft.com] , the extension and format really doesn't matter, except to the extent you can get Wordpad to open the file. It would also work with a
Re:Terrorist computer virus infects hospitals (Score:4, Informative)
They don't have such chance to make it non vulnerable unless they scrap entire backwards compatibility.
A more mad solution would be the thing Apple did. Run the older OS in a virtual machine in its own thread (trublue, MacOS Classic support).
MS can't take such big decisions so, anything claimed for Windows 7 is a joke. If one can run Wordpad from XP in Windows 7, it is not secure.
Parent
Re:Fedora bug .. (Score:4, Informative)
That's a lot more userfriendly than Windows.
Linux: "There's a problem. If you're technically able, here is a fix."
Windows: "There is a problem. You're boned, sorry."
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
You programmers better go back to school and start figuring out how to write code that doesn't fucking suck!
I'll get right on that chief. And I asked you to hold the pickles on this burger.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
To be fair, this comes from a legacy component of Windows, that was not only written long ago, but is also not vulnerable in the latest versions. So they DID learn, just too late.
It does remind me of the Twilight Princess exploit on the Wii though. With all the trouble game companies go to DRM their shit to hell and beyond, one of their programmers didn't check bounds while reading the save file (not checking bounds when reading a fucking FILE, WHAT THE FUCK), and it got pwned. So Nintendo defeated its own
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
It's 2009 where you live? What timezone is that?!