Title: Microsoft Internet Explorer Arbitrary File Execution Vulnerability
Severity: HIGH
Description:
When an HTTP response is sent, a header is provided. This header includes information about the success of the response and the content being returned. HTTP is the communication protocol used for web pages.
It is possible for this header to include the fields content-type and content-disposition. These fields are normally used to define the type of data being returned, and how it is expected to be handled by the client side of the transaction.
An error exists with the way Microsoft Internet Explorer handles conflicts between this information and the file name given in other sections of this HTTP header. IE may, under some circumstances, make a decision to trust a file based on these HTTP header values, and a decision on how to launch the file based on the file name.
A malicious web site owner may exploit this vulnerability. By providing executable content with artifically crafted HTTP headers, it is possible to convince IE that provided content is a benign type, such as a text file. Once downloaded, the file will execute without any warning to the user.
An alert user may be able to cancel the download process, as a progress dialog box is presented. This ability is highly dependant on the download time of the file. For small files or fast network conditions, there may not be sufficient time for manual intervention.
It is also possible to exploit this vulnerability through HTML formatted email, which may contain external references. Files may be downloaded and executed through reading or previewing email.
Some reports have stated that earlier patch levels of Internet Explorer 5.5 may share this vulnerability.
Some reports have stated that this vulnerability is still exploitable once patched under Internet Explorer 6.0, through use of the application/hta content-type value.
Affected Products:
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 SP1
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 SP2
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0
- Microsoft Windows ME
- Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition
- Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition Itanium
- Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
- Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition Itanium
- Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition
- Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Web Edition
- Microsoft Windows XP Home
- Microsoft Windows XP Professional
References:
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