Yahoo! Messenger contains a buffer overflow in the URI handler

Overview

Yahoo! Messenger is an instant messaging client. A remotely exploitable vulnerability has been reported in the URI handler of Yahoo! Messenger.

Description

A remotely exploitable buffer overflow exists in the URI handler of Yahoo! Messenger, versions 5,0,0,1064 and prior, that may permit a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the system with the privileges of the current user. A shared buffer for the parameter functions, such as “getimv”, “sendim”, “message”, “addview”, “adduser”, “call”, and “chat”, is vulnerable to exploit.

This URI handler is installed by Yahoo! Messenger for applications that use the underlying operating system (such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, Outlook, or the command shell). A URI can be sent by another Yahoo! Messenger user, embedded in a web site, or sent in an HTML-renderable email message.

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Impact

Exploitation of this vulnerability will crash the application, resulting in a denial-of-service condition. However, this vulnerability is a buffer overflow and may allow the execution of arbitrary code on the local system with the privileges of the current user.

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Solution

Upgrade to version 5,0,0,1066.

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Vendor Information

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Yahoo __ Affected

Notified: May 29, 2002 Updated: June 05, 2002

Status

Affected

Vendor Statement

Yahoo! encourages users to upgrade to the latest version whenever prompted by the AutoUpdater or regularly check for updated versions of the client at <http://messenger.yahoo.com>.

Vendor Information

The vendor has not provided us with any further information regarding this vulnerability.

Addendum

The CERT/CC has no additional comments at this time.

If you have feedback, comments, or additional information about this vulnerability, please send us [email](<mailto:[email protected]?Subject=VU%23137115 Feedback>).

CVSS Metrics

Group	Score	Vector
Base
Temporal
Environmental

References

• <http://online.securityfocus.com/archive/1/274223&gt;
• <http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/4837&gt;

Acknowledgements

This vulnerability was discovered by Phuong Nguyen of Vice Consulting.

This document was written by Jason Rafail.

Other Information

CVE IDs:	CVE-2002-0031
CERT Advisory:	CA-2002-16 Severity Metric: