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A  U  S  C  E  R  T                                           A  L  E  R  T

                       AL-2008.0079 -- AUSCERT ALERT
                                   [Win]
          Microsoft Office Snapshot Viewer ActiveX Vulnerability
                                8 July 2008

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        AusCERT Alert Summary
        ---------------------

Product:              Microsoft Office Snapshot Viewer
                      Microsoft Office Access 2000
                      Microsoft Office Access XP (2002)
                      Microsoft Office Access 2003
Publisher:            US-CERT
Operating System:     Windows
Impact:               Execute Arbitrary Code/Commands
Access:               Remote/Unauthenticated
CVE Names:            CVE-2008-2463

Original Bulletin:    http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/837785

Comment: This vulnerability is currently being exploited.
         
         Please note that Snapshot viewer may be installed on a system that
         does not have Microsoft Office installed.

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Vulnerability Note VU#837785

Microsoft Office Snapshot Viewer ActiveX control vulnerability

Overview

The Microsoft Office Snapshot Viewer ActiveX control contains a vulnerability, 
which can allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to download arbitrary files 
to arbitrary locations.

I. Description

Microsoft Snapshot Viewer is a viewer for snapshots created with Microsoft 
Access. Snapshot Viewer is available as an ActiveX control, which is provided 
by snapview.ocx, or as a stand-alone application. Snapshot Viewer is provided 
with Office 2000, Office XP, and Office 2003, and it may also be installed on 
a system that does not have Microsoft Office.

The Snapshot Viewer ActiveX control contains a vulnerability, which can allow 
an attacker to download files to arbitrary locations. We have received reports
of active exploitation of this vulnerability.

II. Impact

By convincing a victim to view an HTML document (web page, HTML email, or 
email attachment), an attacker could download arbitrary files to a vulnerable 
system within the security context of the user running IE. These files could 
contain code that could be executed through other means. The user may click 
the file inadvertently, or the file may be placed in a sensitive location, 
such as the Windows Startup folder where it will automatically execute the 
next time the user logs onto the system.

III. Solution

We are currently unaware of a practical solution to this problem. Please see 
Microsoft Security Advisory 955179 and consider the following workarounds:


Disable the Microsoft Snapshot Viewer ActiveX control in Internet Explorer

The vulnerable ActiveX control can be disabled in Internet Explorer by setting 
the kill bit for the following CLSIDs:

      {F0E42D50-368C-11D0-AD81-00A0C90DC8D9}
      {F0E42D60-368C-11D0-AD81-00A0C90DC8D9}
      {F2175210-368C-11D0-AD81-00A0C90DC8D9}

More information about how to set the kill bit is available in Microsoft 
Support Document 240797. Alternatively, the following text can be saved as a 
.REG file and imported to set the kill bit for these controls:

      Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

      [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Internet Explorer\\ActiveX Compatibility\\{F0E42D50-368C-11D0-AD81-00A0C90DC8D9}]
      \"Compatibility Flags\"=dword:00000400

      [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Internet Explorer\\ActiveX Compatibility\\{F0E42D60-368C-11D0-AD81-00A0C90DC8D9}]
      \"Compatibility Flags\"=dword:00000400

      [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Internet Explorer\\ActiveX Compatibility\\{F2175210-368C-11D0-AD81-00A0C90DC8D9}]
      \"Compatibility Flags\"=dword:00000400


Upgrade to Internet Explorer 7

Upgrading Internet Explorer to version 7 or later may help mitigate this 
vulnerability through its ActiveX opt-in feature. This feature is designed to 
prompt the user before using ActiveX controls that are already installed on 
the system.

Do not run Windows with administrator privileges

Running Windows using an unprivileged regular user account may mitigate the 
affects of this vulnerability. See the Microsoft Technet article Applying the 
Principle of Least Privilege to User Accounts on Windows XP for more 
information. This can prevent an attacker from being able to download files to
the Startup folder for \"All Users.\"

Disable ActiveX

Disabling ActiveX controls in the Internet Zone (or any zone used by an 
attacker) appears to prevent exploitation of this and other ActiveX 
vulnerabilities. Instructions for disabling ActiveX in the Internet Zone can 
be found in the \"Securing Your Web Browser\" document. 

Systems Affected

Vendor                   Status      Date Updated
Microsoft Corporation   Vulnerable    7-Jul-2008

References

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/955179.mspx
http://blogs.technet.com/msrc/archive/2008/07/07/snapshot-viewer-activex-control-vulnerability.aspx
http://secunia.com/advisories/30883/
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/175274
http://www.us-cert.gov/reading_room/securing_browser/
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb456992.aspx

Credit

This document was written by Will Dormann.
Other Information
Date Public   07/07/2008
Date First Published   07/07/2008 01:08:22 PM
Date Last Updated   07/07/2008

CERT Advisory	 
CVE Name   CVE-2008-2463
US-CERT Technical Alerts	 
Metric  18.76
Document Revision  26

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