PGP 7.x with Outlook will give your passphrase in CLEAR

From: Adonis.No.Spam (adonis1at_private)
Date: Thu Mar 28 2002 - 16:10:53 PST

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                              /    NtWaK0 Bugs  \
    +-----------------------------------------------------------------------.
                                                                            :
    Affected    : PGP 7.x with Outlook will give your passphrase in CLEAR   :
    Type        : Passphrase DUMP in CLEAR TEXT                             :
    Date        : 28-03-2002                                                :
    Author      : NtWaK0 @ www.SafeHack.com                                 :
    +-----------------------------------------------------------------------.
    
    +--------------------------------------------.
     Outlook and PGP give out a clear Passphrase  \
    +----------------------------------------------`------------------------.
                                                                            :
    +-----------.                                                           :
     Disclaimer  \                                                          :
    +-------------`---------------------------------------------------------.
    The information in this advisory is believed to be true based on        :
    experiments though it may be false. The opinions expressed in this      :
    advisory and program are my own and NOT of any company.                 :
    In Fact I do not work for no one at the present time.                   :
                                                                            :
    This material is presented for informational and entertainment purposes :
    only, and to satisfy the curious. Any activities described in this file :
    which involve vandalism, theft, or any other illegal activities are     :
    recounted from third-party conversations. I do not condone or encourage :
    vandalism or theft. I do not accept any liability for anything anyone   :
    does with this information.                                             :
    Remember: Use a computer in ways that ensure respect for your fellows.  :
                                                                            :
       [  Brief History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  line 43   ]:
                                                                            :
       [  Outlook and PGP give out a clear Passphrase  . . . . . line 78   ]:
                                                                            :
       [  The Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . line 112  ]:
                                                                            :
       [  Technical details / Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . line 127  ]:
                                                                            :
    +-------------.                                                         :
     Brief History \                                                        :
    +---------------`-------------------------------------------------------.
    I feel it is important enough to mention this issue to PGP users.       :
    The problem is very important if you use PGP and you care about your    :
    PASSPHRASE.                                                             :
    NOTE: DO NOT THINK YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO KNOW A BIG PASSPHRASE       :
    DR.WATSON KNOW TOO -:)                                                  :
                                                                            :
    Who is affected:                                                        :
    +---------------                                                        :
    +PGP users with OUTLOOK                                                 :
                                                                            :
    Conditions to replicate the problem:                                    :
    +-----------------------------------                                    :
    +PGP 7.x or older                                                       :
    +Outlook 2000 maybe XP is affected too                                  :
    +Test machine 2000 Professional I did not test YET on NT.               :
    +Be able to crash OUTLOOK while you SIGN a Mail                         :
                                                                            :
    Results of the problem:                                                 :
    +----------------------                                                 :
                                                                            :
    +Getting the user(s) Passphrase(s) in Clear                             :
    +Very bad if you the user machine is not protected and you access Dr.wat:
    +Very bad if the machine is shared and you have access to drwtsn32.log  :
    By default everyone can read at least drwtsn32.log located in :         :
                                                                            :
    For Windows 2000                                                        :
    C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\DrWatson\drwtsn32.log     :
                                                                            :
    For NT                                                                  :
    C:\Winnt\System32\drwtsn32.log                                          :
    Sure this is a default install path                                     :
                                                                            :
    +-----------.                                                           :
     The Problem \                                                          :
    +-------------`---------------------------------------------------------.
                                                                            :
    I was sending a mail with an attachment .pdf file. I clicked sign & Send:
    in Outlook 2000, I got a memory error and Outlook Crash Dumped on me. ;(:
    after waiting for the memory dump to finish I opend drwtsn32.log just to:
    see what was wrong. To my surprise I saw my PASSPHRASE in clear, I was  :
    like hmm a passphrase must be only in our heads not on papers or others.:
                                                                            :
    After thinking a bit about this issue I found it very bad and here is   :
    why. If someone other then you access your drwtsn32.log and if you had  :
    someday crashed outlook while you are signing a mail the chance are they:
    will get your passphrase in clear if they snoop in your drwtsn32.log.   :
                                                                            :
    Having the passphrase in clear is pretty bad, just think about it for   :
    5 min and think how PGP/Keys work.                                      :
                                                                            :
    QUOTE: "About Passphrases From SANS (GSEC)"                             :
    +-------------------------------------------                            :
    "The passphrase needs to be just that: a phrase. Use a sentence that you:
    can remember. Use spaces and punctuation as appropriate. Use some       :
    non-alphanumeric data in addition to proper punctuation."               :
                                                                            :
    All that is cool and nice security standard that you SHOULD follow but  :
    whatever you use it will be in clear when the crash happen              :
                                                                            :
    The larger your passphrase, the harder it is to guess and break when    :
    attacks against your public key are undertaken. It is also much easier  :
    to remember a passphrase than a password, and it is much more secure    :
    (as brute force attacks now have to take into account punctuation and   :
    spaces between words).                                                  :
    +--- END QUOTE---                                                       :
                                                                            :
    +------------.                                                          :
     The Solution \                                                         :
    +--------------`--------------------------------------------------------.
                                                                            :
    + Do not crash your Applications :)                                     :
    + Wait for a fix from vendor                                            :
    + Delete drwtsn32.log manualy or shedule a job to do so every week or   :
    any time you like. Deleting drwtsn32.log is a good idea it contain      :
    sensitive information. But on the other hand it contain a nice          :
    information that help you debugging your system too.                    :
    I suggest you to make a back-up copy of the: file and keep it in a safe :
    place encrypted then delete from your hard disk                         :
                                                                            :
    Or you can use the AT and a batch to delete drwtsn32.log at a specific  :
    date or time                                                            :
    +------------------------.                                              :
     Technical details / Logs \                                             :
    +--------------------------`--------------------------------------------.
                                                                            :
                                                                            :
    function: TranslateMessageEx
    77e1323a 0f8500c40200     jne     EnumDesktopWindows+0xd88 (77e3f640)
    77e13240 33c0             xor     eax,eax
    77e13242 c20800           ret     0x8
    77e13245 ff742408         push    dword ptr [esp+0x8] ss:043bd52b=??
    77e13249 51               push    ecx
    77e1324a e8b7370000       call    GetKeyState+0x92 (77e16a06)
    77e1324f ebf1             jmp     DialogBoxIndirectParamAorW+0x6ba
    (77e1eb42)
    77e13251 b89a110000       mov     eax,0x119a
    77e13256 8d542404         lea     edx,[esp+0x4] ss:043bd52b=?
    77e1325a cd2e             int     2e
    77e1325c c21000           ret     0x10
    
    *----> Stack Back Trace <----*
    
    FramePtr ReturnAd Param#1  Param#2  Param#3  Param#4  Function Name
    0370FF78 77575C36 0370FF98 00000000 00000000 00000000
    user32!TranslateMessageEx
    0370FFB4 77E8758A 0000047C 77595428 0006F204 0000047C
    winmm!midiOutGetNumDevs
    0370FFEC 00000000 77575BB9 0000047C 00000000 037100A0
    kernel32!SetFilePointer
    
    *----> Raw Stack Dump <----*
    0370ff58  63 58 e1 77 98 ff 70 03 - 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
    cX.w..p.........
    0370ff68  00 00 00 00 7c 04 00 00 - 00 00 00 00 27 58 e1 77
    ....|.......'X.w
    0370ff78  b4 ff 70 03 36 5c 57 77 - 98 ff 70 03 00 00 00 00
    ..p.6\Ww..p.....
    0370ff88  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 - 28 54 59 77 04 f2 06 00
    ........(TYw....
    0370ff98  20 20 32 81 ff ff ff ff - 77 0d 43 80 00 00 00 00
    2.....w.C.....
    0370ffa8  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 - 7b 10 43 80 ec ff 70 03
    ........{.C...p.
    0370ffb8  8a 75 e8 77 7c 04 00 00 - 28 54 59 77 04 f2 06 00
    .u.w|...(TYw....
    0370ffc8  7c 04 00 00 00 f0 fa 7f - 00 00 57 77 c0 ff 70 03
    |.........Ww..p.
    0370ffd8  00 00 57 77 ff ff ff ff - 5b 61 e8 77 80 b5 e8 77
    ..Ww....[a.w...w
    0370ffe8  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 - 00 00 00 00 b9 5b 57 77
    .............[Ww
    0370fff8  7c 04 00 00 00 00 00 00 - a0 00 71 03 00 00 00 00
    |.........q.....
    03710008  03 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 - 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
    ................
    03710018  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 - a0 00 71 03 00 00 71 03
    ..........q...q.
    03710028  02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 - 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
    ................
    03710038  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 - 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
    ................
    03710048  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 - 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
    ................
    03710058  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 - a0 07 e4 01 6b 00 00 00
    ............k...
    03710068  46 47 55 42 00 00 00 00 - PASSPHRASEVALUEISHEREPA
    FGUB....PASSPHRA
    03710078  PASSPHRASEVALUEISHEREPA - PASSPHRASEVALUEISHEREPA
    ASEVALUESISHEREP
    03710088  7d 40 00 00 00 00 00 00 - 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
    AS..............
                                                                            :
    Note that the PASSPHRASE is in CLEAR TEXT.                              :
    +------------.                                                          :
     The Solution \                                                         :
    +--------------`--------------------------------------------------------.
    Before you save a page make sure you check the source. Yes it is not the:
    best way but at least you know what you are expecting.                  :
    +-----------------------------------------------------------------------.
    
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    =res/
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    This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Thu Mar 28 2002 - 17:47:29 PST