Windows XP 0-day flaw: remote code execution, exploit released!


Recommended Posts

It is possible to invoke winhlp32.exe from Internet Explorer 8,7,6 using VBScript. Passing malicious .HLP file to winhlp32 could allow remote attacker to run arbitrary command. Additionally, there is a stack overflow vulnerability in winhlp32.exe.

To trigger vulnerability some user interaction is needed, victim has to press F1 when MsgBox popup is displayed.

AFFECTED software: Windows XP SP3

NOT affected: Vista, Windows 7

This is a simple demo (Proof of Concept): http://isec.pl/poc-isec27/ :rofl:

==> yet another reason to upgrade to Vista/7 :rolleyes:

  On 27/02/2010 at 12:31, franzon said:

It is possible to invoke winhlp32.exe from Internet Explorer 8,7,6 using VBScript. Passing malicious .HLP file to winhlp32 could allow remote attacker to run arbitrary command.

Additionally, there is a stack overflow vulnerability in winhlp32.exe.

AFFECTED software: Windows XP SP3

NOT affected: Vista, Windows 7

This is a simple demo (Proof of Concept) for WinXP vulnerability: http://isec.pl/poc-isec27/?? :rofl:

==> yet another reason to upgrade to Vista/7 :rolleyes:

but what if i dont use internet explorer?

Setting the default internet security zone in IE to "High" will protect you from this exploit.

Also, there will undoubtedly be a patch for it, since Windows XP is in extended support until 2014.

  On 27/02/2010 at 12:31, franzon said:

It is possible to invoke winhlp32.exe from Internet Explorer 8,7,6 using VBScript. Passing malicious .HLP file to winhlp32 could allow remote attacker to run arbitrary command. Additionally, there is a stack overflow vulnerability in winhlp32.exe.

To trigger vulnerability some user interaction is needed, victim has to press F1 when MsgBox popup is displayed.

AFFECTED software: Windows XP SP3

NOT affected: Vista, Windows 7

This is a simple demo (Proof of Concept): http://isec.pl/poc-isec27/ :rofl:

==> yet another reason to upgrade to Vista/7 :rolleyes:

==> yet another reason NOT to use IE. ;)

As much as I love Windows Seven, I'll be glad when they fully purge IE from Windows completely.

  On 27/02/2010 at 12:37, carmatic said:

but what if i dont use internet explorer?

Alot of those who stick with XP (businesses) do so its an issue for them.

  On 27/02/2010 at 13:04, Madoshi said:

what if i never ever under any circumstance press F1 in a message dialog?

Dialogue box : "Your PC might be infected!!! Press F1 to begin a free web scan!"

  On 27/02/2010 at 13:37, Sadelwo said:

Alot of those who stick with XP (businesses) do so its an issue for them.

Dialogue box : "Your PC might be infected!!! Press F1 to begin a free web scan!"

Please, don't tell me that someone would actually comply!?

  On 27/02/2010 at 13:41, Buendia said:

Please, don't tell me that someone would actually comply!?

They all comply, i've never known an average user who has not complied

  On 27/02/2010 at 13:37, Sadelwo said:

Alot of those who stick with XP (businesses) do so its an issue for them.

many schools too

  On 27/02/2010 at 13:37, Sadelwo said:
Dialogue box : "Your PC might be infected!!! Press F1 to begin a free web scan!"

i wouldn't, but i know plenty of people who would; fortunately i got them all to use Firefox or Chrome :)

  On 28/02/2010 at 06:24, Bioran23 said:

What's this? The 42,000th 0-day flaw?

Actually, there are probably only a handful of Zero-Day flaws. Most common exploits use patched flaws, but target users who never update. :no:

  On 01/03/2010 at 13:53, Mocosoft said:

This is not an XP flaw, is a Internet Explorer Flaw!!. Theres no reason for me to upgrade to Windows # as far as I have common sense and know how to use a PC properly.

except improved speed, stability, security, sand boxing, improved new hardware support, better feature sets, streamlined integration with new technology (.net, WPF, ectra) , UI taking advantage of more of your hardware (D2D) and regular patching and upgrades coming from microsoft...

*sigh* "NO REASON"

Still, this is a nasty bug for IE, but how has it gone this long without being detected? Or is it as bad as it seems? Am i misreading how simple it is to pull off?

  On 01/03/2010 at 13:53, Mocosoft said:

This is not an XP flaw, is a Internet Explorer Flaw!!.

FALSE! :no:

The flaw is in Windows XP's Help Files subsystem (winhlp32).

winhlp32 is no longer present in Vista/7 (there's only a fake stub for backward compatibility) because the .HLP files are deprecated ==> yet another reason to upgrade to Vista/7

Speed improved? What? about 2 miliseconds faster? OMG! Hurry! Let's BUY IT. Security?. What about the latest exploit affecting IE on 7 and vista?. Sandbox applications? To what? Sharepoint? There's other apps that can do that on XP. Improved new hardware? Hm, let's say MS is not even responsible about the hardware support.. thats responsibility of the hardware developers/companies. That was the WinME Failure. .NET still works on XP. WPF? HM, "pretty" apps that use more Hardware?. More gpu using for just render my desktop to make it look "pretty". Nop. NO REASON for me to upgrade.

if you stopped using internet exploder then that would help alot and use something better but xp still works well and why change something that works?well internet exploder needs to go.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Intel's new GPU driver adds support for FBC: Firebreak, Stellar Blade, and more by Taras Buria Intel has released a new non-WHQL driver under version 32.0.101.6876. The update brings support and optimizations for four games and a single fix for visual artifacts that appear in certain situations. Here is the list of newly-supported games in driver 32.0.101.6876 on systems with Intel Arc B-Series, A-Series, and Intel Core Ultra with built-in Arc graphics: FBC: Firebreak Rematch Stellar Blade Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege X There is also a single bug fixed in today's release: Intermittent visual artifacts may appear in certain usage scenarios. Known issues remain the same as in the latest WHQL release, except for a new bug that causes audio glitches on handheld devices: Certain handheld devices may experience audio glitches and lower-than-expected performance while audio is playing. You can mitigate the problem by following a guide that Intel published on the official forum. It requires reinstalling the graphics and NPU drivers on the affected systems. A proper fix will be available in a future driver update. You can install Intel 32.0.101.6876 non-WHQL driver on PCs with 64-bit Windows 10 and Windows 11 with the following graphics products from Intel: Discrete GPUs Integrated GPUs Intel Arc A-Series (Alchemist) Intel Arc B-Series (Battlemage) Intel Iris Xe Discrete Graphics (DG1) Intel Core Ultra Series 2 (Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake) Intel Core Ultra (Meteor Lake) Intel Core 14th Gen (Raptor Lake Refresh) Intel Core 13th Gen (Raptor Lake) Intel Core 12th Gen (Alder Lake) Intel Core 11th Gen (Tiger Lake) You can download the driver from the official website here. Full release notes are available here (PDF). Keep in mind that this is a non-WHQL driver, which means it could be less stable than certified WHQL drivers.
    • He did give it away in 2008, well actually he gave away half of his fortune. He was open at the time that part of the reason he was doing it was that he was accumulating wealth faster than he could conceive of spending it
    • ooof! made me wince when i saw where the stand connected!
    • Microsoft Edge.  The vertical tabs are a must have feature for me.
    • It does when you're a software developer and you have to provide supports for these people.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Dedicated
      jbatch earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • Week One Done
      Leonard grant earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      portacnb1 earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      portacnb1 earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • First Post
      m10d earned a badge
      First Post
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      264
    2. 2
      snowy owl
      158
    3. 3
      +FloatingFatMan
      145
    4. 4
      ATLien_0
      140
    5. 5
      Xenon
      131
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!