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Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS99-018)
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Patch Available for "Malformed Favorites Icon" Vulnerability
Originally Posted: May 27, 1999
Summary
=======
Microsoft has released a single patch that eliminates two security
vulnerabilities in Microsoft (r) Internet Explorer 4.0 and 5. The first
potentially could allow arbitrary code to be run on a user's computer. The
second potentially could allow the local hard drive to be read. A fully
supported patch is available to eliminate both vulnerabilities, and
Microsoft recommends that affected customers download and install it, if
appropriate.
Issue
=====
This update eliminates two vulnerabilities:
- The "Malformed Favorites Icon" vulnerability. The Favorites
feature allows IE users to keep a list of their favorite web
sites. In IE 5, the Favorites list can contain icons that are
supplied by the associated web sites. However, there is an
unchecked buffer in the implementation. A specially-malformed icon
could overrun the buffer and be used to run arbitrary code on the
user's computer. This vulnerability only affects IE 5 when run on
Windows 95 or 98; it does not affect Windows NT systems.
- The "Legacy ActiveX Control" vulnerability. An ActiveX control
that was used by previous versions of IE also was included in IE 4.0
and IE 5 even though it is not used by either. It could be misused
to allow a web site to read the user's local hard drive. The update
eliminates the vulnerability by removing the control.
While there are no reports of customers being adversely affected by these
vulnerabilities, Microsoft is proactively releasing the patch to allow
customers to take appropriate action to protect themselves against it.
Affected Software Versions
==========================
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 and 5.0
Note: The patch, provided below in What Customers Should Do, will determine
the version of IE and the platform on which it is installed, and will apply
only the appropriate fix. As a result, the single patch below is
appropriate for use by customers who are affected by either or both of the
vulnerabilities.
What Microsoft is Doing
=======================
Microsoft has released patches that fix the problem identified. The patches
are available for download from the sites listed below in What Customers
Should Do.
Microsoft also has sent this security bulletin to customers subscribing
to the Microsoft Product Security Notification Service. See
http://www.microsoft.com/security/services/bulletin.asp for more
information about this free customer service.
Microsoft has published the following Knowledge Base (KB) article on this
issue:
- Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) article Q231450,
Update Available for the "Malformed Favorites Icon" Issue in
Internet Explorer 5,
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q231/4/50.asp
- Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) article Q231452,
Update Available for "Legacy ActiveX Control" Issue in Internet
Explorer 5,
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q231/4/52.asp
(Note: It might take 24 hours from the original posting of this bulletin for
the KB article to be visible in the Web-based Knowledge Base.)
What Customers Should Do
========================
Microsoft highly recommends that customers evaluate the degree of risk that
this vulnerability poses to their systems and determine whether to download
and install the patch. As noted above, the patch is appropriate for use on
systems that are affected by either or both of the vulnerabilities. The
patch can be found at
www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/security/favorites.asp
More Information
================
Please see the following references for more information related to this
issue.
- Microsoft Security Bulletin MS99-018,
Patch Available for "Malformed Favorites Icon" Vulnerability,
http://www.microsoft.com/security/bulletins/ms99-018.asp.
- Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) article Q231450,
Update Available for the "Malformed Favorites Icon" Issue in
Internet Explorer 5,
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q231/4/50.asp.
- Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) article Q231452,
Update Available for "Legacy ActiveX Control" Issue in Internet
Explorer 5,
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q231/4/52.asp
Obtaining Support on this Issue
===============================
If you require technical assistance with this issue, please contact
Microsoft Technical Support. For information on contacting Microsoft
Technical Support, please see
http://support.microsoft.com/support/contact/default.asp.
Acknowledgments
===============
Microsoft acknowledges Flavio Veloso (flaviovsat_private) for
discovering the "Malformed Favorites Icon" vulnerability and reporting it
to us, and Steve Loughran for discovering the "Legacy ActiveX Control"
vulnerability and reporting it to us.
Revisions
=========
- May 27, 1999: Bulletin Created.
For additional security-related information about Microsoft products, please
visit http://www.microsoft.com/security
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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