Title: AOL Instant Messenger Password Encryption Weakness
Severity: MODERATE
Description:
AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) is a multi-platform real time messaging service.
It has been reported that AOL Instant Messenger uses a weak method of encryption
while negotiating its sign on process.
The first FLAP packets sent to the OSCAR (Open System for Communication in Realtime) logon server contain the user login password and screen name which are encrypted using a weak XOR method of encryption.
An attacker may intercept packets during the AIM authentication process from the local network and decryption the contents of the packet to reveal confidential AIM user credentials.
Affected Products:
- AOL Instant Messenger 1.2.0
References:
- AOL: AOL Instant Messenger Home Page
- ISS: Risk Exposure Through Instant Messaging And Peer-To-Peer (P2P) Networks
- james@foo.org: AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) protocol information and password decoder
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