Buffer overflow in Internet Explorer's HTTP parsing code
2003-04-28T00:00:00
ID SECURITYVULNS:DOC:4457 Type securityvulns Reporter Securityvulns Modified 2003-04-28T00:00:00
Description
OVERVIEW
The code used in Microsoft Internet Explorer to parse web servers' HTTP
replies contains a buffer overflow vulnerability. Specifically the faulty
code is located in URLMON.DLL. A malicious user may exploit this
vulnerability to execute arbitrary code on an IE user's system.
DETAILS
HTTP is the protocol used in communication between web servers and web
browsers. When a web page is viewed, the browser sends a HTTP request to
the server in question. The server then sends a HTTP reply which usually
contains the web page the browser requested. In addition to the
document body which is shown to the user, the HTTP reply contains some
header fields which e.g. specify how the document should be presented to
the user.
Due to missing or insufficient input validation, a buffer overflow
takes place in Internet Explorer when it receives a HTTP reply
with excessively long values in certain header fields. A buffer placed
on stack gets overrun and a malicious reply may overwrite data,
including the subroutine's return address, and thus direct the program
execution to an arbitrary address. The vulnerability is a traditional
stack-based buffer overflow and relatively easy to exploit.
This vulnerability can be used by an attacker to run any code in the
system of the victim viewing a special web page with Internet Explorer or
reading mail with Outlook or Outlook Express. More details will be
published later.
SOLUTION
The vendor was informed about the bug on March 16, 2003. Microsoft has
classified this vulnerability as critical and published a bulletin
and patch correcting the issue. These are available at
The information in the "Mitigating factors" section of Microsoft's
bulletin claiming that this vulnerability isn't exploitable by e-mail
borne attacks is incorrect. Test exploits have been produced for
WWW, Outlook, and Outlook Express attack scenarios. In each of the
cases, the exploit code runs without further user interaction on the
victim system. Furthermore, no e-mail attachments or any kind of
scripting are needed since the attack can be carried out via a standard
HTML. In fact merely starting the e-mail program can lead to exploitation
because (depending on configuration) it may automatically open the first
new message.
CREDITS
The vulnerability was discovered by Jouko Pynnönen of Oy Online Solutions
Ltd, Finland. It was demonstrated on 25th April at Kontakti.net's
"Tekninen Tietoturva" seminar in Helsinki.
--
Jouko Pynnonen Online Solutions Ltd Secure your Linux -
jouko@solutions.fi http://www.solutions.fi http://www.secmod.com
{"id": "SECURITYVULNS:DOC:4457", "bulletinFamily": "software", "title": "Buffer overflow in Internet Explorer's HTTP parsing code", "description": "\r\n\r\n\r\nOVERVIEW\r\n========\r\n\r\nThe code used in Microsoft Internet Explorer to parse web servers' HTTP \r\nreplies contains a buffer overflow vulnerability. Specifically the faulty \r\ncode is located in URLMON.DLL. A malicious user may exploit this \r\nvulnerability to execute arbitrary code on an IE user's system.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nDETAILS\r\n=======\r\n\r\nHTTP is the protocol used in communication between web servers and web \r\nbrowsers. When a web page is viewed, the browser sends a HTTP request to \r\nthe server in question. The server then sends a HTTP reply which usually \r\ncontains the web page the browser requested. In addition to the \r\ndocument body which is shown to the user, the HTTP reply contains some \r\nheader fields which e.g. specify how the document should be presented to \r\nthe user.\r\n\r\nDue to missing or insufficient input validation, a buffer overflow \r\ntakes place in Internet Explorer when it receives a HTTP reply \r\nwith excessively long values in certain header fields. A buffer placed \r\non stack gets overrun and a malicious reply may overwrite data, \r\nincluding the subroutine's return address, and thus direct the program \r\nexecution to an arbitrary address. The vulnerability is a traditional \r\nstack-based buffer overflow and relatively easy to exploit.\r\n\r\nThis vulnerability can be used by an attacker to run any code in the \r\nsystem of the victim viewing a special web page with Internet Explorer or \r\nreading mail with Outlook or Outlook Express. More details will be \r\npublished later.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nSOLUTION\r\n========\r\n\r\nThe vendor was informed about the bug on March 16, 2003. Microsoft has \r\nclassified this vulnerability as critical and published a bulletin \r\nand patch correcting the issue. These are available at\r\n\r\n http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS03-015.asp\r\n\r\nThe information in the "Mitigating factors" section of Microsoft's \r\nbulletin claiming that this vulnerability isn't exploitable by e-mail \r\nborne attacks is incorrect. Test exploits have been produced for \r\nWWW, Outlook, and Outlook Express attack scenarios. In each of the \r\ncases, the exploit code runs without further user interaction on the \r\nvictim system. Furthermore, no e-mail attachments or any kind of \r\nscripting are needed since the attack can be carried out via a standard \r\nHTML. In fact merely starting the e-mail program can lead to exploitation \r\nbecause (depending on configuration) it may automatically open the first \r\nnew message.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nCREDITS\r\n=======\r\n\r\nThe vulnerability was discovered by Jouko Pynnönen of Oy Online Solutions \r\nLtd, Finland. It was demonstrated on 25th April at Kontakti.net's \r\n"Tekninen Tietoturva" seminar in Helsinki.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n-- \r\nJouko Pynnonen Online Solutions Ltd Secure your Linux -\r\njouko@solutions.fi http://www.solutions.fi http://www.secmod.com\r\n\r\n", "published": "2003-04-28T00:00:00", "modified": "2003-04-28T00:00:00", "cvss": {"score": 0.0, "vector": "NONE"}, "href": "https://vulners.com/securityvulns/SECURITYVULNS:DOC:4457", "reporter": "Securityvulns", "references": [], "cvelist": [], "type": "securityvulns", "lastseen": "2018-08-31T11:10:07", "edition": 1, "viewCount": 2, "enchantments": {"score": {"value": 6.6, "vector": "NONE", "modified": "2018-08-31T11:10:07", "rev": 2}, "dependencies": {"references": [{"type": "msupdate", "idList": ["MS:8A73F701-8CA9-4457-A2C3-61776F288DAE", "MS:D7F5DCCC-0F27-4C2C-976E-A82E237D2238", "MS:25EB43CE-D336-40BA-856C-4CA301FFDCE8", "MS:2E47E7D9-0FE8-4457-8140-CACDA9AC2E20"]}, {"type": "mskb", "idList": ["KB3114833", "KB3071088"]}, {"type": "cve", "idList": ["CVE-2014-2595", "CVE-2018-15587", "CVE-2017-4457", "CVE-2019-4457", "CVE-2019-15108", "CVE-2015-9286", "CVE-2008-7273", "CVE-2015-4457", "CVE-2008-7272"]}, {"type": "nessus", "idList": ["DEBIAN_DSA-4457.NASL"]}, {"type": "openvas", "idList": ["OPENVAS:1361412562310704457"]}, {"type": "debian", "idList": ["DEBIAN:DSA-4457-1:F2BE2"]}, {"type": "github", "idList": ["GHSA-C43V-HRMG-56R4"]}, {"type": "openbugbounty", "idList": ["OBB:332082"]}], "modified": "2018-08-31T11:10:07", "rev": 2}, "vulnersScore": 6.6}, "affectedSoftware": []}
{"rst": [{"lastseen": "2021-01-14T00:00:00", "bulletinFamily": "ioc", "cvelist": [], "description": "Found **eliettoo[.]com** in [RST Threat Feed](https://rstcloud.net/profeed) with score **10**.\n First seen: 2020-12-22T03:00:00, Last seen: 2021-01-14T03:00:00.\n IOC tags: **generic**.\nIOC could be a **False Positive** (Domain not resolved. Whois records not found).\n[https://rstcloud.net/](https://rstcloud.net/)", "edition": 1, "modified": "2020-12-22T00:00:00", "id": "RST:DE6638F6-4457-3119-8DA4-16CB4332BCCD", "href": "", "published": "2021-01-15T00:00:00", "title": "RST Threat feed. IOC: eliettoo.com", "type": "rst", "cvss": {}}, {"lastseen": "2021-01-14T00:00:00", "bulletinFamily": "ioc", "cvelist": [], "description": "Found **safety[.]apple.com.auhbtvbzqh.u7trivcw1bu6zuqxyeck403ohztv9mbubw.review** in [RST Threat Feed](https://rstcloud.net/profeed) with score **10**.\n First seen: 2020-12-22T03:00:00, Last seen: 2021-01-14T03:00:00.\n IOC tags: **generic**.\nIOC could be a **False Positive** (Domain not resolved. Whois records not found).\n[https://rstcloud.net/](https://rstcloud.net/)", "edition": 1, "modified": "2020-12-22T00:00:00", "id": "RST:CB97779C-4457-3A08-BE95-5300A224DF04", "href": "", "published": "2021-01-15T00:00:00", "title": "RST Threat feed. IOC: safety.apple.com.auhbtvbzqh.u7trivcw1bu6zuqxyeck403ohztv9mbubw.review", "type": "rst", "cvss": {}}, {"lastseen": "2021-01-14T00:00:00", "bulletinFamily": "ioc", "cvelist": [], "description": "Found **coourieroffice[.]000webhostapp.com** in [RST Threat Feed](https://rstcloud.net/profeed) with score **25**.\n First seen: 2020-12-22T03:00:00, Last seen: 2021-01-14T03:00:00.\n IOC tags: **generic**.\nDomain has DNS A records: 145[.]14.144.97 and CNAME records: us-east-1.route-1.000webhost.awex.io.\nWhois:\n Created: 2016-05-11 13:34:12, \n Registrar: Hostinger UAB, \n Registrant: unknown.\n[https://rstcloud.net/](https://rstcloud.net/)", "edition": 1, "modified": "2020-12-22T00:00:00", "id": "RST:9A183805-4457-3207-A253-67CD1030A471", "href": "", "published": "2021-01-15T00:00:00", "title": "RST Threat feed. IOC: coourieroffice.000webhostapp.com", "type": "rst", "cvss": {}}, {"lastseen": "2021-01-14T00:00:00", "bulletinFamily": "ioc", "cvelist": [], "description": "Found **toutmessenger[.]free.fr** in [RST Threat Feed](https://rstcloud.net/profeed) with score **25**.\n First seen: 2020-12-22T03:00:00, Last seen: 2021-01-14T03:00:00.\n IOC tags: **generic**.\nDomain has DNS A records: 212[.]27.63.113 and CNAME records: perso113-g5.free.fr.\nWhois:\n Created: 1999-03-15 17:36:09, \n Registrar: unknown, \n Registrant: Free SAS.\n[https://rstcloud.net/](https://rstcloud.net/)", "edition": 1, "modified": "2020-12-22T00:00:00", "id": "RST:60209708-4457-3F47-B3F1-9555F7BEE29C", "href": "", "published": "2021-01-15T00:00:00", "title": "RST Threat feed. IOC: toutmessenger.free.fr", "type": "rst", "cvss": {}}, {"lastseen": "2021-01-14T00:00:00", "bulletinFamily": "ioc", "cvelist": [], "description": "Found **fpeaces[.]net** in [RST Threat Feed](https://rstcloud.net/profeed) with score **10**.\n First seen: 2020-12-22T03:00:00, Last seen: 2021-01-14T03:00:00.\n IOC tags: **generic**.\nIOC could be a **False Positive** (Domain not resolved. Whois records not found).\n[https://rstcloud.net/](https://rstcloud.net/)", "edition": 1, "modified": "2020-12-22T00:00:00", "id": "RST:CBF0B4E6-4457-3166-AC9C-2B85FF7132EC", "href": "", "published": "2021-01-15T00:00:00", "title": "RST Threat feed. IOC: fpeaces.net", "type": "rst", "cvss": {}}, {"lastseen": "2021-01-14T00:00:00", "bulletinFamily": "ioc", "cvelist": [], "description": "Found **https://crudtest[.]srintegrated.com/tsbd42xu.zip** in [RST Threat Feed](https://rstcloud.net/profeed) with score **60**.\n First seen: 2021-01-11T03:00:00, Last seen: 2021-01-14T03:00:00.\n IOC tags: **malware**.\n[https://rstcloud.net/](https://rstcloud.net/)", "edition": 1, "modified": "2021-01-11T00:00:00", "id": "RST:675734E6-4457-31DC-B5B3-DB05BE4F6000", "href": "", "published": "2021-01-15T00:00:00", "title": "RST Threat feed. IOC: https://crudtest.srintegrated.com/tsbd42xu.zip", "type": "rst", "cvss": {}}, {"lastseen": "2021-01-14T00:00:00", "bulletinFamily": "ioc", "cvelist": [], "description": "Found **ns1[.]batuhankaygusuz.com.tr** in [RST Threat Feed](https://rstcloud.net/profeed) with score **10**.\n First seen: 2020-12-22T03:00:00, Last seen: 2021-01-14T03:00:00.\n IOC tags: **generic**.\nIOC could be a **False Positive** (Domain not resolved. Whois records not found).\n[https://rstcloud.net/](https://rstcloud.net/)", "edition": 1, "modified": "2020-12-22T00:00:00", "id": "RST:3915E310-4457-38FB-B143-DA82404D73AD", "href": "", "published": "2021-01-15T00:00:00", "title": "RST Threat feed. IOC: ns1.batuhankaygusuz.com.tr", "type": "rst", "cvss": {}}, {"lastseen": "2021-01-14T00:00:00", "bulletinFamily": "ioc", "cvelist": [], "description": "Found **159[.]192.250.123** in [RST Threat Feed](https://www.rstcloud.net/profeed) with score **24**.\n First seen: 2020-12-26T03:00:00, Last seen: 2021-01-14T03:00:00.\n IOC tags: **generic**.\nASN 131090: (First IP 159.192.208.0, Last IP 159.192.255.255).\nASN Name \"CATIDC4BYTENETASAP\" and Organisation \"CAT TELECOM Public Company LtdCAT\".\nASN hosts 295 domains.\nGEO IP information: City \"Bangkok\", Country \"Thailand\".\n[https://rstcloud.net/](https://rstcloud.net/)", "edition": 1, "modified": "2020-12-26T00:00:00", "id": "RST:7EB2EDDD-4457-30C6-B57A-50B01D14B231", "href": "", "published": "2021-01-15T00:00:00", "title": "RST Threat feed. IOC: 159.192.250.123", "type": "rst", "cvss": {}}, {"lastseen": "2021-01-14T00:00:00", "bulletinFamily": "ioc", "cvelist": [], "description": "Found **publiconews[.]com.br** in [RST Threat Feed](https://rstcloud.net/profeed) with score **10**.\n First seen: 2019-12-15T03:00:00, Last seen: 2021-01-14T03:00:00.\n IOC tags: **spam**.\nIOC could be a **False Positive** (Domain not resolved. Whois records not found).\n[https://rstcloud.net/](https://rstcloud.net/)", "edition": 1, "modified": "2019-12-15T00:00:00", "id": "RST:7E0D7FE1-4457-3C34-8FB8-FC74ABFA65C3", "href": "", "published": "2021-01-15T00:00:00", "title": "RST Threat feed. IOC: publiconews.com.br", "type": "rst", "cvss": {}}, {"lastseen": "2021-01-14T00:00:00", "bulletinFamily": "ioc", "cvelist": [], "description": "Found **top-22[.]ru** in [RST Threat Feed](https://rstcloud.net/profeed) with score **10**.\n First seen: 2020-12-24T03:00:00, Last seen: 2021-01-14T03:00:00.\n IOC tags: **generic**.\nIOC could be a **False Positive** (Domain not resolved. Whois records not found).\n[https://rstcloud.net/](https://rstcloud.net/)", "edition": 1, "modified": "2020-12-24T00:00:00", "id": "RST:F30106FB-4457-32E4-806C-893D5F2A878D", "href": "", "published": "2021-01-15T00:00:00", "title": "RST Threat feed. IOC: top-22.ru", "type": "rst", "cvss": {}}], "msupdate": [{"lastseen": "2021-01-12T22:37:01", "bulletinFamily": "microsoft", "cvelist": [], "description": "Install this update to resolve issues in Windows. For a complete listing of the issues that are included in this update, see the associated Microsoft Knowledge Base article for more information. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.", "edition": 1, "modified": "2021-01-12T18:00:06", "id": "MS:75A57E55-829F-460D-9A92-C91409E6A0F1", "href": "https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/ScopedViewInline.aspx?updateid=75a57e55-829f-460d-9a92-c91409e6a0f1", "published": "2021-01-12T18:00:06", "title": "2021-01 Servicing Stack Update for Windows 10 Version 2004 for x86-based Systems (KB4598481)", "type": "msupdate", "cvss": {"score": 0.0, "vector": "NONE"}}]}