WMI Object Broker ActiveX Control bypasses ActiveX security model
2006-11-01T00:00:00
ID VU:854856 Type cert Reporter CERT Modified 2009-01-05T00:00:00
Description
Overview
The Microsoft WMI Object Broker ActiveX control bypasses the ActiveX security model, which can allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable system.
Description
ActiveX
ActiveX is a technology that allows programmers to create reusable software components that can be incorporated into applications to extend their functionality. Internet Explorer is a common Windows application that makes use of ActiveX controls.
Through either the IObjectSafety interface or the appropriate registry values, an ActiveX control can be marked as "safe for scripting" and/or "safe for initialization." According to the MSDN article Signing and Marking ActiveX Controls:
If you mark your control as safe for initializing, you are asserting that no matter what values are used to initialize your control, it won't do anything that would damage a user's system or compromise the user's security.
If you mark your control as safe for scripting, you are asserting that your control won't do anything to damage a user's system or compromise the user's security, regardless of how your control's methods and properties are manipulated by the Web page's script. In other words, it has to accept any method calls (with any parameters) and/or property manipulations in any order without doing anything bad. The MSDN article Designing Secure ActiveX Controls states:
Controls are marked as not safe for scripting or data initialization by default. Don't implement them unless the functionality of the control is hampered without them.The WMI Object Broker ActiveX control
The WMI Object Broker ActiveX control is an object that comes with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005. It may also be present in other software packages. The control is provided by the file wmiscriptutils.dll. This control is marked as "safe for scripting," which means that a web page can control the object, such as by calling its methods.
The problem
The WMI Object Broker ActiveX control includes a method that can create an instance of an ActiveX control that exists on the system. The ActiveX objects created in this manner will bypass the ActiveX security model. For example, the "kill bit" and "safe for scripting" options are ignored.
Note that public reports indicate this vulnerability is actively being exploited.
For more information refer to Microsoft Security Advisory (927709).
Impact
By convincing a user to view a specially crafted HTML document (e.g., a web page or an HTML email message or attachment), an attacker may be able to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the user.
Solution
Apply Updates
Apply the appropriate updates described in Microsoft Security Bulletin MS06-073. This update provides a newer version of the WMI Object Broker ActiveX control. Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-016 also sets the kill bit for the WMI Object Broker ActiveX control, which prevents Internet Explorer from using it.
Disable the WMI Object Broker ActiveX control in Internet Explorer
The WMI Object Broker ActiveX control can be disabled in Internet Explorer by setting the kill bit for the following CLSID:
{7F5B7F63-F06F-4331-8A26-339E03C0AE3D}
More information about how to set the kill bit is available in Microsoft Support Document 240797.
Disable ActiveX
Disabling ActiveX controls in the Internet Zone (or any zone used by an attacker) appears to prevent exploitation of this vulnerability. Instructions for disabling ActiveX in the Internet Zone can be found in the "Securing Your Web Browser" document and the Malicious Web Scripts FAQ.
Systems Affected
Vendor| Status| Date Notified| Date Updated
---|---|---|---
Microsoft Corporation| | -| 13 Feb 2007
If you are a vendor and your product is affected, let us know.
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Internet Explorer is a common Windows application that makes use of ActiveX controls. \n \n**ActiveX safety determination** \n \nInternet Explorer determines if an ActiveX control is safe by querying the [IObjectSafety interface](<http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/components/com/reference/ifaces/iobjectsafety/iobjectsafety.asp>) of the object and by querying the Implemented Categories registry key for the control, as specified by [Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 216434](<http://support.microsoft.com/kb/216434/>) and the [MSDN ActiveX safety article](<http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/components/activex/safety.asp>). \n \n**ActiveX security options** \n \nThrough either the IObjectSafety interface or the appropriate registry values, an ActiveX control can be marked as \"safe for scripting\" and/or \"safe for initialization.\" According to the MSDN article [Signing and Marking ActiveX Controls](<http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnaxctrl/html/msdn_signmark.asp>): \n\n\n_If you mark your control as safe for initializing, you are asserting that no matter what values are used to initialize your control, it won't do anything that would damage a user's system or compromise the user's security._ \n \n_If you mark your control as safe for scripting, you are asserting that your control won't do anything to damage a user's system or compromise the user's security, regardless of how your control's methods and properties are manipulated by the Web page's script. In other words, it has to accept any method calls (with any parameters) and/or property manipulations in any order without doing anything bad._ The MSDN article [Designing Secure ActiveX Controls](<http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/components/activex/security.asp>) states: \n\n\n_Controls are marked as not safe for scripting or data initialization by default. Don't implement them unless the functionality of the control is hampered without them._ **The WMI Object Broker ActiveX control** \n \nThe WMI Object Broker ActiveX control is an object that comes with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005. It may also be present in other software packages. The control is provided by the file `wmiscriptutils.dll`. This control is marked as \"safe for scripting,\" which means that a web page can control the object, such as by calling its methods. \n \n**The problem** \n \nThe WMI Object Broker ActiveX control includes a method that can create an instance of an ActiveX control that exists on the system. The ActiveX objects created in this manner will bypass the ActiveX security model. For example, the \"[kill bit](<http://support.microsoft.com/kb/240797>)\" and \"[safe for scripting](<http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/components/activex/safety.asp>)\" options are ignored. \n \nNote that public reports indicate this vulnerability is actively being exploited. \n \nFor more information refer to Microsoft Security Advisory ([927709](<http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/927709.mspx>)). \n \n--- \n \n### Impact\n\nBy convincing a user to view a specially crafted HTML document (e.g., a web page or an HTML email message or attachment), an attacker may be able to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the user. \n \n--- \n \n### Solution\n\n**Apply Updates** \n \nApply the appropriate updates described in Microsoft Security Bulletin [MS06-073](<http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms06-073.mspx>). This update provides a newer version of the WMI Object Broker ActiveX control. Microsoft Security Bulletin [MS07-016](<http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS07-016.mspx>) also sets the kill bit for the WMI Object Broker ActiveX control, which prevents Internet Explorer from using it. \n \n--- \n \n \n**Disable the WMI Object Broker ActiveX control in Internet Explorer** \n \nThe WMI Object Broker ActiveX control can be disabled in Internet Explorer by setting the kill bit for the following CLSID: \n\n\n`{7F5B7F63-F06F-4331-8A26-339E03C0AE3D}` \nMore information about how to set the kill bit is available in [Microsoft Support Document 240797](<http://support.microsoft.com/kb/240797>). \n \n**Disable ActiveX** \n \nDisabling ActiveX controls in the Internet Zone (or any zone used by an attacker) appears to prevent exploitation of this vulnerability. Instructions for disabling ActiveX in the Internet Zone can be found in the \"[Securing Your Web Browser\"](<http://www.us-cert.gov/reading_room/securing_browser/#Internet_Explorer>) document[](<http://www.us-cert.gov/reading_room/securing_browser/#Internet_Explorer>) and the [Malicious Web Scripts FAQ](<http://www.cert.org/tech_tips/malicious_code_FAQ.html#ie56>). \n \n--- \n \n### Systems Affected \n\nVendor| Status| Date Notified| Date Updated \n---|---|---|--- \nMicrosoft Corporation| | -| 13 Feb 2007 \nIf you are a vendor and your product is affected, [let us know](<mailto:cert@cert.org?Subject=VU%23854856 Vendor Status Inquiry>).\n\n### CVSS Metrics \n\nGroup | Score | Vector \n---|---|--- \nBase | N/A | N/A \nTemporal | N/A | N/A \nEnvironmental | N/A | N/A \n \n### References\n\n * <http://www.us-cert.gov/reading_room/securing_browser/#Internet_Explorer>\n * <http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/927709.mspx>\n * <http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms06-073.mspx>\n * <http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS07-016.mspx>\n * <http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925674>\n * <http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929233/>\n * <http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/components/activex/safety.asp>\n * <http://support.microsoft.com/kb/240797>\n * <http://secunia.com/advisories/22603/>\n * <http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/20797>\n * <http://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-06-047.html>\n\n### Credit\n\nThis vulnerability was publicly reported by Michal Bucko and H D Moore.\n\nThis document was written by Jeff Gennari and Will Dormann.\n\n### Other Information\n\n * CVE IDs: [CVE-2006-4704](<http://web.nvd.nist.gov/view/vuln/detail?vulnId=CVE-2006-4704>)\n * Date Public: 01 Nov 2006\n * Date First Published: 01 Nov 2006\n * Date Last Updated: 05 Jan 2009\n * Severity Metric: 37.46\n * Document Revision: 31\n\n", "modified": "2009-01-05T00:00:00", "lastseen": "2016-02-03T09:13:00", "bulletinFamily": "info", "title": "WMI Object Broker ActiveX Control bypasses ActiveX security model", "objectVersion": "1.2", "reporter": "CERT", "type": "cert", "published": "2006-11-01T00:00:00", "enchantments": {"vulnersScore": 6.8}}
{"result": {"cve": [{"id": "CVE-2006-4704", "type": "cve", "title": "CVE-2006-4704", "description": "Cross-zone scripting vulnerability in the WMI Object Broker (WMIScriptUtils.WMIObjectBroker2) ActiveX control (WmiScriptUtils.dll) in Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 allows remote attackers to bypass Internet zone restrictions and execute arbitrary code by instantiating dangerous objects, aka \"WMI Object Broker Vulnerability.\"", "published": "2006-11-01T10:07:00", "cvss": {"score": 6.8, "vector": "AV:NETWORK/AC:MEDIUM/Au:NONE/C:PARTIAL/I:PARTIAL/A:PARTIAL/"}, "href": "https://web.nvd.nist.gov/view/vuln/detail?vulnId=CVE-2006-4704", "cvelist": ["CVE-2006-4704"], "lastseen": "2017-10-11T11:06:47"}], "saint": [{"id": "SAINT:C574B3949AC481238CB823F3F64EF15B", "type": "saint", "title": "Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 WMI Object Broker vulnerability", "description": "Added: 01/15/2007 \nCVE: [CVE-2006-4704](<http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2006-4704>) \nBID: [20843](<http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/20843>) \nOSVDB: [30155](<http://www.osvdb.org/30155>) \n\n\n### Background\n\nMicrosoft [Visual Studio](<http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/>) is a product to assist with software development in the Windows operating system. \n\n### Problem\n\nA flaw in the WMI Object Broker ActiveX control allows attackers to bypass security zone restrictions, leading to command execution when a user opens a specially crafted web page. \n\n### Resolution\n\nApply the patch referenced in [Microsoft Security Bulletin 06-073](<http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms06-073.mspx>). \n\n### References\n\n<http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms06-073.mspx> \n<http://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-06-047.html> \n\n\n### Limitations\n\nExploit works on Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 and requires a user to open the exploit in a web browser. \n\n### Platforms\n\nWindows \n \n\n", "published": "2007-01-15T00:00:00", "cvss": {"score": 6.8, "vector": "AV:NETWORK/AC:MEDIUM/Au:NONE/C:PARTIAL/I:PARTIAL/A:PARTIAL/"}, "href": "http://www.saintcorporation.com/cgi-bin/exploit_info/visual_studio_wmi_object_broker", "cvelist": ["CVE-2006-4704"], "lastseen": "2016-10-03T15:01:58"}, {"id": "SAINT:CE0E723D92F36418C7A3B000BE4BF5AC", "type": "saint", "title": "Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 WMI Object Broker vulnerability", "description": "Added: 01/15/2007 \nCVE: [CVE-2006-4704](<http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2006-4704>) \nBID: [20843](<http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/20843>) \nOSVDB: [30155](<http://www.osvdb.org/30155>) \n\n\n### Background\n\nMicrosoft [Visual Studio](<http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/>) is a product to assist with software development in the Windows operating system. \n\n### Problem\n\nA flaw in the WMI Object Broker ActiveX control allows attackers to bypass security zone restrictions, leading to command execution when a user opens a specially crafted web page. \n\n### Resolution\n\nApply the patch referenced in [Microsoft Security Bulletin 06-073](<http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms06-073.mspx>). \n\n### References\n\n<http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms06-073.mspx> \n<http://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-06-047.html> \n\n\n### Limitations\n\nExploit works on Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 and requires a user to open the exploit in a web browser. \n\n### Platforms\n\nWindows \n \n\n", "published": "2007-01-15T00:00:00", "cvss": {"score": 6.8, "vector": "AV:NETWORK/AC:MEDIUM/Au:NONE/C:PARTIAL/I:PARTIAL/A:PARTIAL/"}, "href": "http://download.saintcorporation.com/cgi-bin/exploit_info/visual_studio_wmi_object_broker", "cvelist": ["CVE-2006-4704"], "lastseen": "2016-12-14T16:58:06"}, {"id": "SAINT:77930DA0D02A6BFB9652933CECDF4DBB", "type": "saint", "title": "Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 WMI Object Broker vulnerability", "description": "Added: 01/15/2007 \nCVE: [CVE-2006-4704](<http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2006-4704>) \nBID: [20843](<http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/20843>) \nOSVDB: [30155](<http://www.osvdb.org/30155>) \n\n\n### Background\n\nMicrosoft [Visual Studio](<http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/>) is a product to assist with software development in the Windows operating system. \n\n### Problem\n\nA flaw in the WMI Object Broker ActiveX control allows attackers to bypass security zone restrictions, leading to command execution when a user opens a specially crafted web page. \n\n### Resolution\n\nApply the patch referenced in [Microsoft Security Bulletin 06-073](<http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms06-073.mspx>). \n\n### References\n\n<http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms06-073.mspx> \n<http://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-06-047.html> \n\n\n### Limitations\n\nExploit works on Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 and requires a user to open the exploit in a web browser. \n\n### Platforms\n\nWindows \n \n\n", "published": "2007-01-15T00:00:00", "cvss": {"score": 6.8, "vector": "AV:NETWORK/AC:MEDIUM/Au:NONE/C:PARTIAL/I:PARTIAL/A:PARTIAL/"}, "href": "https://my.saintcorporation.com/cgi-bin/exploit_info/visual_studio_wmi_object_broker", "cvelist": ["CVE-2006-4704"], "lastseen": "2017-01-10T14:03:42"}], "osvdb": [{"id": "OSVDB:30155", "type": "osvdb", "title": "Microsoft Visual Studio WMI Object Broker ActiveX Control (WmiScriptUtils.dll) Unspecified Code Execution", "description": "# No description provided by the source\n\n## References:\nVendor Specific News/Changelog Entry: http://blogs.technet.com/msrc/archive/2006/11/01/microsoft-security-advisory-927709-posted.aspx\nSecurity Tracker: 1017142\n[Secunia Advisory ID:22603](https://secuniaresearch.flexerasoftware.com/advisories/22603/)\nOther Advisory URL: http://isc.sans.org/diary.php?storyid=1815\nOther Advisory URL: http://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-06-047.html\nNews Article: http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2048968,00.asp?kc=EWRSS03119TX1K0000594\nMicrosoft Security Bulletin: MS06-073\nMicrosoft Knowledge Base Article: 927709\nMicrosoft Knowledge Base Article: 925674\nMail List Post: http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/fulldisclosure/2006-12/0234.html\nGeneric Exploit URL: http://metasploit.com/projects/Framework/exploits.html#ie_createobject\nFrSIRT Advisory: ADV-2006-4282\n[CVE-2006-4704](https://vulners.com/cve/CVE-2006-4704)\nCERT VU: 854856\nBugtraq ID: 20843\n", "published": "2006-11-01T03:33:35", "cvss": {"score": 6.8, "vector": "AV:NETWORK/AC:MEDIUM/Au:NONE/C:PARTIAL/I:PARTIAL/A:PARTIAL/"}, "href": "https://vulners.com/osvdb/OSVDB:30155", "cvelist": ["CVE-2006-4704"], "lastseen": "2017-04-28T13:20:26"}], "zdi": [{"id": "ZDI-06-047", "type": "zdi", "title": "Microsoft Visual Studio WmiScriptUtils.dll Cross-Zone Scripting Vulnerability", "description": "This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable installations of Microsoft Internet Explorer. Successful exploitation requires that the target user browse to a malicious web page.\n\nThe specific flaw exists in the Microsoft WMIScriptUtils.WMIObjectBroker2 ActiveX control which is bundled with Visual Studio 2005. An attacker can utilize this control to bypass Internet zone security restrictions and instantiate other dangerous objects that can be leveraged to result in arbitrary code execution.", "published": "2006-12-12T00:00:00", "cvss": {"score": 6.8, "vector": "AV:NETWORK/AC:MEDIUM/Au:NONE/C:PARTIAL/I:PARTIAL/A:PARTIAL/"}, "href": "http://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-06-047", "cvelist": ["CVE-2006-4704"], "lastseen": "2016-11-09T00:18:02"}], "nessus": [{"id": "SMB_NT_MS06-073.NASL", "type": "nessus", "title": "MS06-073: Vulnerability in Visual Studio 2005 Could Allow Remote Code Execution (925674)", "description": "The remote host is running a version of Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 that is vulnerable to a buffer overflow when handling malformed WMI request in the ActiveX component.\n\nAn attacker may exploit this flaw to execute arbitrary code on this host, by entice a use to visit a specially crafter web page.", "published": "2006-12-12T00:00:00", "cvss": {"score": 6.8, "vector": "AV:NETWORK/AC:MEDIUM/Au:NONE/C:PARTIAL/I:PARTIAL/A:PARTIAL/"}, "href": "https://www.tenable.com/plugins/index.php?view=single&id=23836", "cvelist": ["CVE-2006-4704"], "lastseen": "2017-10-29T13:42:31"}], "metasploit": [{"id": "MSF:EXPLOIT/WINDOWS/BROWSER/IE_CREATEOBJECT", "type": "metasploit", "title": "MS06-014 Microsoft Internet Explorer COM CreateObject Code Execution", "description": "This module exploits a generic code execution vulnerability in Internet Explorer by abusing vulnerable ActiveX objects.", "published": "2009-07-22T20:14:35", "cvss": {"score": 6.8, "vector": "AV:NETWORK/AC:MEDIUM/Au:NONE/C:PARTIAL/I:PARTIAL/A:PARTIAL/"}, "href": "", "cvelist": ["CVE-2006-0003", "CVE-2006-4704"], "lastseen": "2018-03-09T05:11:58"}], "exploitdb": [{"id": "EDB-ID:16561", "type": "exploitdb", "title": "Microsoft Internet Explorer - COM CreateObject Code Execution", "description": "Internet Explorer COM CreateObject Code Execution. CVE-2006-0003,CVE-2006-4704. Remote exploit for windows platform", "published": "2010-09-20T00:00:00", "cvss": {"score": 6.8, "vector": "AV:NETWORK/AC:MEDIUM/Au:NONE/C:PARTIAL/I:PARTIAL/A:PARTIAL/"}, "href": "https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/16561/", "cvelist": ["CVE-2006-4704", "CVE-2006-0003"], "lastseen": "2016-02-02T00:08:26"}]}}