Apple QuickTime QTIF heap buffer overflow

Overview

Apple QuickTime is vulnerable to a heap buffer overflow which may allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code or crash the system.

Description

A vulnerability exists in the way Apple QuickTime handles specially crafted QuickTime Image (QTIF) files. According to Apple QuickTime 7.1.5 security document 305149:

_A heap buffer overflow exists in QuickTime’s handling of QTIF files. By enticing a user to access a maliciously-crafted QTIF file, an attacker can trigger the overflow, which may lead to an application crash or arbitrary code execution. _

This vulnerability may be triggered by sending a specially crafted QTIF file to QuickTime or an application that uses the QuickTime plug-in.

Note that this issue affects QuickTime installations on both Apple Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows operating systems.

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Impact

A remote, unauthenticated attacker may be able to execute arbitrary code or crash the system.

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Solution

Apply an Update

This issue is addressed in Apple QuickTime 7.1.5 security document 305149. An update for Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows is available on Apple Downloads and via Software Update.

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Disable the QuickTime ActiveX controls in Internet Explorer

The vulnerable QuickTime ActiveX controls can be disabled in Internet Explorer by setting the kill bit for the following CLSIDs:

{02BF25D5-8C17-4B23-BC80-D3488ABDDC6B}
{4063BE15-3B08-470D-A0D5-B37161CFFD69}

More information about how to set the kill bit is available in Microsoft Support Document 240797. Alternatively, the following text can be saved as a .REG file and imported to set the kill bit for these controls:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility\{02BF25D5-8C17-4B23-BC80-D3488ABDDC6B}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility\{4063BE15-3B08-470D-A0D5-B37161CFFD69}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400

Disable the QuickTime plug-in for Mozilla-based browsers

Users of Mozilla-based browsers, such as Firefox can disable the QuickTime plugin, as specified in the PluginDoc article Uninstalling Plugins.

Disable file association for QuickTime files

Disable the file association for QuickTime file types to help prevent windows applications from using Apple QuickTime to open QuickTime files. This can be accomplished by deleting the following registry keys:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\QuickTime.*

This will remove the association for approximately 32 file types that are configured to open with the QuickTime Player software.

Disable JavaScript

For instructions on how to disable JavaScript, please refer to the Securing Your Web Browser document. This can help prevent some attack techniques that use the QuickTime plug-in or ActiveX control.

Do not access QuickTime files from untrusted sources

Attackers may host malicious QuickTime files on web sites. In order to convince users to visit their sites, those attackers often use a variety of techniques to create misleading links including URL encoding, IP address variations, long URLs, and intentional misspellings. Do not click on unsolicited links received in email, instant messages, web forums, or internet relay chat (IRC) channels. Type URLs directly into the browser to avoid these misleading links. While these are generally good security practices, following these behaviors will not prevent exploitation of this vulnerability in all cases, particularly if a trusted site has been compromised or allows cross-site scripting.

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Vendor Information

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Apple Computer, Inc. __ Affected

Updated: March 06, 2007

Status

Affected

Vendor Statement

We have not received a statement from the vendor.

Vendor Information

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

Addendum

Please refer to Apple Support Document 305149 for further information.

If you have feedback, comments, or additional information about this vulnerability, please send us [email](<mailto:[email protected]?Subject=VU%23313225 Feedback>).

CVSS Metrics

Group	Score	Vector
Base
Temporal
Environmental

References

• <http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305149&gt;
• <http://secunia.com/advisories/24359/&gt;
• <http://www.auscert.org.au/7356&gt;
• <http://labs.idefense.com/intelligence/vulnerabilities/display.php?id=486&gt;
• http://www.reversemode.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=2&func=fileinfo&id=46
• <http://www.ciac.org/ciac/bulletins/r-171.shtml&gt;
• <http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/22827&gt;
• <http://securitytracker.com/id?1017725&gt;

Acknowledgements

This vulnerability was reported by Apple, who in turn credit Ruben Santamarta from iDefense and JJ Reyes for reporting this issue.

This document was written by Katie Steiner.

Other Information

CVE IDs:	CVE-2007-0718
Severity Metric:	17.72 Date Public: