Zero-Day IE Exploit Takes Control of PCs 567
anethema writes "A remote IE exploit with implementations is currently in the wild. From the article: 'Exploit code for a critical flaw in fully patched versions of Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer browser has been released on the Internet, putting millions of Web surfers at risk of computer hijack attacks.' Aparently all you have to do is browse the page to be affected. There is no patch, but since it is a JavaScript exploit, you can work around it by disabling JavaScript."
Firefox (Score:0, Informative)
Zero-day? No. (Score:3, Informative)
Re:I'm glad to see that (Score:3, Informative)
This code (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Link to a copy? (Score:4, Informative)
Re:This is why... (Score:4, Informative)
Re:I hope this gets into a doubleclick ad (Score:5, Informative)
Make of it what you will.
How to disable JavaScript (Score:2, Informative)
To disable JavaScript in IE, click Tools, Internet Options and choose the Security tab. Click the Internet icon, click the Default Level button, and move the slider to High.
Re:Is there a tenor in the house? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Zero-day? No. (Score:1, Informative)
BTW the POC is here
http://www.computerterrorism.com/research/ie/poc.
Start the slashdotting....
Re:Zero-day? No. (Score:1, Informative)
In the security world any exploit for a vulnerability which is unknown to the community (be that a commercial or a foss community) is a zero day exploit. Admins have zero days to patch their systems.
Be that as it is, it's still not a zero day exploit, but that's because the vulnerability was known, not because it's existing software.
Re:I don't care (Score:3, Informative)
Would a worm do all that, or a clueless script kiddie? Probably not. As you say, there are too few dual-boot systems around. Bear in mind however that the Linux partition is still at risk from a malicious kiddie letting rip with fdisk.
But would a hacker do it? Yes, I think so. Especially if he'd just been directly challenged to do so by someone who thinks the wall between Windows and Linux in a dual-boot system is so impenetrable...
Duh! (+1, informative) (Score:3, Informative)
The *nix joke "word^Wother" (also written "word^H^H^H^H") meant: i wrote "word", but repented and erased it (with one control-w or N control-h keys) and substituted it for "other".
The newly made Sony/Windows joke "$sys$word other" means: "word" becomes invisible and, just as in the unix case, I am saying "other" (when I really mean the harsher "word").
Funny thing is, it's not as funny when I explain it.
Re:Zero-day? No. (Score:2, Informative)
A zero-day exploit is one that takes advantage of a security vulnerability on the same day that the vulnerability becomes generally known. Ordinarily, after someone detects that a software program contains a potential exposure to exploitation by a hacker, that person or company can notify the software company and sometimes the world at large so that action can be taken to repair the exposure or defend against its exploitation. Given time, the software company can repair and distribute a fix to users. Even if potential hackers also learn of the vulnerability, it may take them some time to exploit it; meanwhile, the fix can hopefully become available first.
Re:Opera affected too? (Score:5, Informative)
Not affected. I've tested <body onload="window();"> and nothing happens besides JS console logging "Statement on line 1: The Object does not implement [[Call]]".
Re:Duh! (+1, informative) (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Duh! (+1, informative) (Score:1, Informative)
Re:Link to a copy? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Duh! (+1, informative) (Score:2, Informative)
The "^W" control character deletes the preceding word, not character. This distinguishes from "^H", which deletes only the preceding character, thus they aren't interchangable.
If you notice, I quoted you with the four words preceding "^W^W^W^W" deleted, as if the "^W"s had actually had an effect on the sentence. That made your sentence incomplete, and therefore nonsense.
Therefore "Huh?".
Granted, it wasn't worthy of Mark Twain, but it was meant to be humorous.
Re:lazy story submitters (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Link to a copy? (Score:3, Informative)
Not sure if crashing the browser can really be called an 'exploit'. Slashdot headline writers on crack again...
Re:HTML in Outlook Affected? (Score:2, Informative)
Much like following the HotMail link in MSN Messenger will launch a new IE window, despite having FF set as the default browser.
Re:If a problem like this was found in Firefox... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Ouch. (Score:4, Informative)
Import a CSS on every page and you can get a nicer looking layout with little cost. "Small in size" and "fast loading" does not necessarily mean "default color scheme."
Re:Give it 5 (Score:2, Informative)
Links (Score:3, Informative)
http://lists.seifried.org/pipermail/security/2005
http://www.computerterrorism.com/research/ie/ct21
http://www.computerterrorism.com/research/ie/poc.
Re:Link to a copy? (Score:1, Informative)
Windows XP SP2
Extensions: IETab, Web Developer Toolbar
Nothing visible happened. No slowdown occurred. No programs were launched. The Javascript console logged an error: "Error: runpoc is not defined".
Re:Zero-day? No. (Score:1, Informative)
Re:This is why... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Advice for not getting this virus (Score:3, Informative)