Security Alerts
Security Warning: Vulnerable
Microsoft Video ActiveX Control Being Exploited in The Wild
Updated 7/14/2009
On so-called Patch Tuesday in July Microsoft
released security bulletin MS09-032 with a patch for
a vulnerability in a Microsoft Video ActiveX
Control (msVidCtl) that is being actively exploited on the Internet
through
drive-by downloads. Initially, there were limited in-the-wild
attacks;
however, the vulnerability is now being exploited to a greater extent,
and exploit code has been publicly published (making it easier for more
use of the exploit). Currently the vulnerability is mostly
being exploited by web sites in China where thousands of hacked web
sites have the malicious code added. Many of these web sites
would not be considered irreputable. The
web sites appear to have been compromised using an exploit kit.
The scope of this attack is likely to increase.
ActiveX control are one of the top targets of
malicious web exploit toolkit developers. These web exploit
toolkits now account for nearly all browser-related exploits seen in
the wild.
Threat Level
Warning: Vulnerability is being
actively exploited on the Internet.
(A "warning" alert is for a situation that are currently occurring or
conditions are right for the situation to occur soon.)
Severity: Medium. The current exploit runs with the
privileges of the logged-on-user, which could allow complete control
over the computer if the user has local administrator rights.
Media attention: Yes.
Affected Software
Internet Explorer 6 or 7 on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.
Enhanced Security Configuration in Windows Server 2003
effectively mitigates the vulnerability.
How Are Systems Compromised?
The current exploit is primarily
compromising computer systems using a drive-by download, which
attempts to install a cocktail of malware on visitors' computer.
A user needs only to browse a malicious or compromised
legitimate web site. Sites that allow
user-provided HTML content (such as facebook.com, myspace.com, and
netflix.com) or host advertisement with unvetted content could contain
specially crafted content that could exploit this vulnerability.
No further user action is needed to be compromised.
Users are typically lured to malicious or
compromised web sites such as through e-mail messages with links.
However, search engine seeding with the malicious or
compromised web sites is also possible. Remember that safe
computing practice is to not follow links in unsolicited messages, no
matter how compelling the message is (such as promises of current news
events such as about Michael Jackson or that you can get a laptop for
very cheap).
How
Do I Protect My Computer
Microsoft Security Bulletin MS09-032
is a cumulative security update of ActiveX kill bits. It
contains
basically the same solution at the work-around perviously published by
Microsoft in the Security Advisory. Installing this update
will prevent the ActiveX Control from
being executed by setting the kill-bit for that control's CLSID.
Currently there is one ActiveX Control object being
exploited; however, the Microsoft advisory lists 45 such Microsoft
Video ActiveX Control objects that Microsoft recommends killing.
Microsoft has investigated and found that none of the
controls in msVidCtl.dll are meant to be used in IE and there
is no reason to not set the kill-bit for all of them. Setting
the kill-bit for one control on one computer can be done with a little
work. Setting 45 kill-bits on many PCs is much harder to do.
The Microsoft advisory contains instructions for setting the
kill bit. Install the cumulative security update of ActiveX
kill
bits to kill all 45 CLSIDs.
Use a gateway spyware blocker (such as Untangle) that can block
malicious ActiveX controls and add the vulnerable ActiveX control's
CLSID in just one place on your network.
Do not log on with an account with
administrative rights for normal use of the computer.
Most major virus protection vendors have added
detection for this particular exploit, so keep virus protection and
intrusion detection/prevention system definitions up-to-date.
However, other exploits of the underlying vulnerability will
not necessarily be detected by virus protection or intrusion
detection/prevention systems until a sample of the exploit has been
analyzed and definitions developed.
More Information
Security Advisories
Microsoft Security Bulletin: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS09-032.mspx
Microsoft Advisory: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/972890.mspx
US-CERT: http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/180513
ISS: http://www.iss.net/threats/329.html
Symantec blog: http://www.symantec.com/connect/blogs/another-unpatched
-vulnerability-being-massively-exploited-internet-explorer
McAfee Avert blog: http://www.avertlabs.com/research/blog/index.php/
2009/07/06/new-attacks-against-internet-explorer/
Trend Micro blog: http://blog.trendmicro.com/zero-day-microsoft-directshow
-mpeg2tunerequest-exploit-leads-to-killav-malware/
Microsoft has published several blog
entries regarding this
vulnerability
http://blogs.technet.com/msrc/default.aspx
http://blogs.technet.com/srd/
News
Washington Post: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2009/07/
microsoft_internet_explorer_ex.html?wprss=securityfix
The Register: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/07/06/new_microsoft_exploit_in_wild/
KLFY: http://www.klfy.com/Global/story.asp?S=10657160
WBOC-TV: http://www.wboc.com/Global/story.asp?S=279979&nav=menu222_8_6_4
cnet news: http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9984823-7.html
Computerworld: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9135259/
Microsoft_may_have_known_about_critical_IE_bug_for_months?taxonomyId=1
Managed Services
Based on the criticality, IT Professional Services
performed an emergency deployment of either a Group Policy Object (GPO)
to set the kill bit of all 45 vulnerable ActiveX Controls Class IDs
(CLSIDs) or to deploy the Microsoft "Fix It for Me"
installer to protect all systems under
managed care.
Professional Services
If you need assistance installing protection from
this worm or a security assessment, IT Professional Services
can help. Call our
help desk.
Find
out more about our managed care service.
To find out how vulnerable your network is
schedule a free network security analysis today.
We at IT Professional Services (ITPS)
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