Title: Microsoft Internet Explorer Content-Type Field Arbitrary File Execution Vulnerability
Severity: HIGH
Description:
Microsoft Internet Explorer uses the Content-Type HTML header field to determine how to handle a file when downloading it from a website.
A flaw exists in the way that Internet Explorer processes the Content-Type field. It would be possible to create a Content-Type field that would allow a file to be downloaded to the user's system and automatically executed with a specified application. This could allow a malicious website operator to have a file downloaded and executed on the vulnerable user's system with the application of their choosing.
The application that the file is executed with would already have to be installed on the vulnerable user's system. The application would also have to be capable of performing the desired actions. For example, if a Word file containing a malicious autoexecute macro were to be downloaded and executed, Word would have to be configured to allow macros to execute automatically, which is not the default setting.
It is important to note that since Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express use Internet Explorer to interpret HTML email messages, this vulnerability could also be exploited through HTML email or newsgroup postings.
Affected Products:
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0.1 SP2
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 SP1
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 SP2
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0
- 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:
- Microsoft: Microsoft Security Bulletin MS02-005
- Microsoft: Microsoft Technet Security
- Microsoft: Q316059: Cumulative Patch for Internet Explorer
- Microsoft: Q317727: Patch Is Available for the Application Invocation via Content-Type Fiel
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