Browsers under attack - archive

FYI...

- http://preview.tinyurl.com/64qbkd
April 23, 2008 (Infoworld) - "...Web sites are rife with security problems: In 2006, the Web Application Security Consortium surveyed 31,373 sites and found that 85.57 percent were vulnerable to cross-site scripting attacks, 26.38 were vulnerable to SQL injection and 15.70 percent had faults that could let an attacker steal information from databases...
Vendors have typically only tested their software patches on machines in default configurations, which isn't representative of the real IT world, Paller said. Many businesses use custom applications with custom configurations, which require rigorous testing to ensure a patch won't break their applications. The U.S. Air Force was one of the first organizations that tried a new approach when contracting IT systems with Microsoft and other application vendors about two years ago to enable speedier patching, Paller said.
The Air Force's CIO at the time, John M. Gilligan, consolidated 38 different IT contracts into one and ordered all new systems to be delivered in the same, secure configuration. Then, he ordered that application vendors certify that their applications would work on the secure configurations, Paller said. Then Gilligan took his case to Microsoft. At the time, it took the Air Force about 57 days between the time a patch was released until their 450,000 systems were up-to-date. Gilligan wanted Microsoft to test its patches on machines with the same configuration as the Air Force's, shifting the cumbersome testing process back to the vendor. The negotiations, which didn't start off well, culminated with a meeting with CEO Steve Ballmer. "The story is that he [Gilligan] use a four-letter word in the meeting," Paller said. "You know what the four-letter word was? Unix."
Gilligan won. Now, the Air Force can patch in about 72 hours now, and they're looking to cut that to 24 hours, Paller said. The idea was so successful that as of Feb. 1, the U.S. government implemented the same conditions for all of its agencies..."

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FYI...

Cross-site scripting also used in Mass Compromises
- http://blog.trendmicro.com/xss-methods-also-seen-being-used-in-mass-compromises/
May 31, 2008 - "We were about to investigate further on malicious activities related to banner82(dot)com/b.js but the URL was already inaccessible around Tuesday. Soon enough the malicious script in www(dot)adw95(dot)com caught our interest. A rough survey of the sites compromised by this script reveal that the sites involved some cross-site scripting (XSS*), or SQL injection vulnerabilities, or a combination of both... XSS vulnerabilities can cause a variety of problems for the casual web surfer. These problems range in severity from mere annoyance to complete credential compromise. Some XSS attacks incorporate disclosure of the user’s session cookies, allowing an attack perpetrator to have complete control over the victim’s session and to (in effect) take over the account & hijack the HTTP session.
XSS attacks may also include redirecting the user to some other page or website, and modifying the content of a HTTP session. Other damaging risks include the exposure of the victim’s files, and subsequently the installation of Trojans and other damaging malware — and to what purpose? One can only guess because once the compromise is successful, the criminal’s next actions are open to unlimited possibility.
An XSS attacker utilizes varying methods to encode the malicious script in order to be less conspicuous to users and administrators alike. There are an unaccounted number of variations for these types of attacks, and XSS attacks can come in the form of embedded JavaScript — one of the more common implementations. But be forewarned — any embedded active content is also a potential source of danger, including: ActiveX (OLE), VBscript, Flash, and more... Mass compromises seem to be all the rage these days, and exploiting XSS vulnerabilities are just one of the methods criminals can employ to silently worm their way into users’ PCs..."
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-site_scripting#Exploit_scenarios

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Malware redirects...

FYI...

Malware redirects...
- http://sunbeltblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/malware-distributors-move-to-dogpile.html
June 08, 2008 - "First Google, then DoubleClick* redirects, now Dogpile is a new favorite for XSS redirects by malware authors..."
* http://sunbeltblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/google-fixes-redirects-now-it.html
June 02, 2008 - "On May 25th, we noticed that spammers and malware distributors had moved from using Google redirects, to Doubleclick redirects. If you’re tracking this stuff, you’re undoubtedly seeing extensive use of these redirects..."

(Screenshots available at both URLs above.)

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Safari attack code released...

FYI...

Safari 'carpet bomb' attack code released
- http://preview.tinyurl.com/65fe66
June 10, 2008 (Computerworld) - "A hacker has posted attack code that exploits critical flaws in the Safari and Internet Explorer Web browsers. The source code, along with a demo of the attack, was posted Sunday on a computer security blog. It can be used to run unauthorized software on a victim's machine, and could be used by criminals in Web-based computer attacks... the vulnerability has to do with the way Windows handles desktop executables and recommended that Windows users "restrict use of Safari as a Web browser until an appropriate update is available from Microsoft and/or Apple." The attack affects all versions of Windows XP and Vista, Microsoft said in its advisory*..."

- http://isc.sans.org/diary.html?storyid=4562
Last Updated: 2008-06-12 11:22:32 UTC
...Since the proof of concept is easily available, if you are using Safari on Windows please change the default download location as described in Microsoft's advisory available at
* http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/953818.mspx

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Malicious doorways redirecting to malware

FYI...

- http://ddanchev.blogspot.com/2008/06/malicious-doorways-redirecting-to.html
June 16, 2008 - "...bottom line - malicious doorways are slowly starting to emerge thanks to the convergence of traffic redirection and management tools with web malware exploitation kits, and just like we've been seeing the adaptation of spamming tools and approaches for phishing purposes, next we're going to see the development of infrastructure management kits, a feature that DIY phishing kits* are starting to take into consideration as well."
* http://ddanchev.blogspot.com/2008/05/diy-phishing-kits-introducing-new.html

Warning: We strongly suggest that readers NOT visit websites mentioned as being behind the attacks discussed. They should be considered dangerous and capable of infecting your system.

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FYI...

Safari version 3.1.2...
- http://blog.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2008/06/apple_issues_fix_for_safari_on_1.html
June 19, 2008 - "Apple today pushed out a new version of its Safari browser for Microsoft Windows users. The latest iteration plugs at least four security holes, including one that allowed automatic downloading of files to the Windows desktop. In some cases, these files could be started without the user's knowledge. Safari version 3.1.2 corrects a flaw, which allows any rogue Web site to "carpet bomb" the user's Windows Desktop... The new version is available from Apple Downloads* ..."
* http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/
"This update is recommended for all Safari Windows users and includes stability improvements and the latest security updates."

- http://secunia.com/advisories/30775/
Release Date: 2008-06-20
Critical: Highly critical
Impact: Exposure of sensitive information, System access
Where: From remote
Solution Status: Vendor Patch
Software: Safari for Windows 3.x ...
Solution: Update to version 3.1.2 ...
Original Advisory: Apple:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2092

- http://nvd.nist.gov/nvd.cfm?cvename=CVE-2008-2540

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IEv6 XSS vuln code released

FYI...

- http://www.us-cert.gov/current/index.html#microsoft_internet_explorer_6_cross
June 26, 2008 - "US-CERT is aware of publicly available proof-of-concept code for a new vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer 6. This vulnerability may allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary script in the context of another domain. This could allow an attacker to take a variety of actions, including stealing cookies, hijacking a web session, or stealing authentication credentials. At this time, Internet Explorer 7 does not appear to be affected by this issue. US-CERT strongly encourages users to upgrade to Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 and follow the best security practices as outlined in the Securing Your Web Browser document to help mitigate the risk. Additional information about this vulnerability can be found in the Vulnerability Notes Database*..."
* http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/923508

- http://secunia.com/advisories/30857/

===

(Another) IEv6 vuln... aka "Cross-Site Cooking"
- http://nvd.nist.gov/nvd.cfm?cvename=CVE-2008-3173
Last revised: 7/15/2008 - "...NOTE: this issue may exist because of an insufficient fix for CVE-2004-0866*..."
* http://nvd.nist.gov/nvd.cfm?cvename=CVE-2004-0866

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IE v6, v7, v8 vuln - unpatched

FYI...

- http://secunia.com/advisories/30851/
Last Update: 2008-06-30
Critical: Moderately critical
Impact: Security Bypass, Spoofing
Where: From remote
Solution Status: Unpatched...
Solution: Do not visit or follow links from untrusted websites...
- http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/516627
Last Updated: 06/27/2008 - "...Limited testing has shown that IE 6, 7, and 8 beta 1 are vulnerable...
We are currently unaware of a practical solution to this problem. Please consider the following workarounds:
Disable Active Scripting
This vulnerability can be mitigated by disabling Active Scripting in the Internet Zone, as specified in the "Securing Your Web Browser" document*."
* http://www.us-cert.gov/reading_room/securing_browser/#Internet_Explorer

> http://www.us-cert.gov/current/#microsoft_internet_explorer_frame_vulnerability

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40% of Web users surf with Unsafe Browsers

FYI...

40% of Web users surf with Unsafe Browsers
- http://preview.tinyurl.com/4nhr4n
July 1, 2008 (blog.washingtonpost.com/securityfix) - "A comprehensive new study of online surfing habits released today found that only 60 percent of the planet's Internet users surf the Web with the latest, most-secure versions of their preferred Web browsers. The study, conducted by researchers from Google, IBM and the Communication Systems Group in Switzerland, relied on data from server logs provided by Google for search requests between Jan. 2007 and June 2008. The researchers found that of the 1.4 billion Internet users worldwide at the end of March 2008, 576 million surfed with outdated versions of Web browsers..."

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Top Web Threat Trends...

FYI...

- https://forums2.symantec.com/t5/blogs/blogarticlepage/blog-id/istr/article-id/13
03-24-2009 - "... simply visiting your favorite website can either lead to malware silently being installed on your computer without ever clicking on anything, or being plagued by misleading applications, such as fake antivirus software, seems to be a surprise to many users and IT managers alike... Our recently published Web-based attacks white paper* highlights some of the top Web threat trends that our security analysts observed during 2008... When your system is compromised, there is usually no indication—it happens silently without flashing lights or having to click on anything. All it takes is one vulnerable browser, multimedia application, document viewer, or browser plug-in and your computer can be compromised. I spoke with one user who couldn’t believe that one of the top 100 sites on the Internet would be attacking his computer. There was another customer whose own Web server kept attacking and infecting his computer... Web-based attacks are occurring everywhere and users’ computers are being attacked and infected in enterprise and consumer environments alike..."

* http://www.symantec.com/business/theme.jsp?themeid=threatreport
Web Based Attacks: February, 2009 - "...
Top Web Threat Trends for 2008
1. Drive-by downloads from mainstream Web site are increasing
2. Attacks are heavily obfuscated and dynamically changing making traditional antivirus solutions ineffective
3. Attacks are targeting browser plug-ins instead of only the browser itself
4. Misleading applications infecting users are increasing
5. SQL injection attacks are being used to infect mainstream Web sites
6. Malvertisements are redirecting users to malicious Web sites
7. Explosive growth in unique and targeted malware samples ..."

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TinyURL abuse... E-cards lead to malware...

FYI...

TinyURL abuse... E-cards lead to malware...
- http://blog.trendmicro.com/e-cards-used-to-advertise-adult-dating-site/
Mar. 24, 2009 - "The misuse of legitimate services continue as after recent reports of cybercriminals exploitng the redirecting service TinyURL to slip past spam filters, legitimate e-card services are now being used. We have received email samples that arrive as ecards... The greeting cards were from Regards.com, the web’s largest collection of free greeting cards. The email claims to be sent by a user under an alias..."
(Screenshot available at the URL above.)
________________________________________

See: http://tinyurl.com/preview.php?disable=0
"Don't want to be instantly redirected to a TinyURL and instead want to see where it's going before going to the site? Not a problem with our preview feature."

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Browsers under attack - 2009

FYI...

Browsers under attack - 2009
- http://www.trustedsource.org/blog/248/New-McAfee-Whitepaper-on-Browser-Attacks
June 4, 2009 - "... this paper* deals with the many complexities of browser security and attacks. From the paper:
Web Browsers: An Emerging Platform Under Attack
'The widespread use of highly interactive “rich client” web applications for e-commerce, business networking, and online collaboration has finally catapulted web browsers from straightforward HTML viewers to a full-blown software platform. And as corporate users are performing a significant portion of their work on the web, whether it’s researching or collaborating, the safety of the underlying platform is critical to the company’s success.' Other areas the paper covers include:
• The shift in spam to mainly malicious web link usage
• “Web 2.0” sites—whether weblogs, social networking or portal sites—are increasingly spammed with links to malicious sites
• Legitimate sites are compromised and misused to either host malicious code or link to a malicious website
• Use of malicious video banners placed in advertisement networks
• Use of popular search terms to advertise and drive (search query) traffic to a malicious website. In a recent case in Germany, attackers used Google AdWords to attract users who searched for “flash player” to the attacker’s fake Adobe-look-alike site ..."
* http://www.mcafee.com/us/local_content/white_papers/wp_webw_browsers_w_en.pdf

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More 0-Day exploits for browsers

FYI...

More 0-Day exploits for browsers...
- http://blog.trendmicro.com/more-zero-day-exploits-for-firefox-and-ie-flaws/
July 21, 2009 - "Earlier today... spotted several malicious script files that exploited Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer vulnerabilities:
• JS_DIREKTSHO.B exploits a vulnerability in Microsoft Video Streaming ActiveX control to download other possibly malicious files.
• JS_FOXFIR.A accesses a website to download JS_SHELLCODE.BV. In turn JS_SHELLCODE.BV exploits a vulnerability in Firefox 3.5 to download WORM_KILLAV.AKN.
• JS_SHELLCODE.BU exploits a vulnerability in Microsoft OWC to download JS_SHELLCODE.BV.
Initial analysis... shows that the scripts above may be unknowingly downloaded through either Firefox -or- Internet Explorer.
According to Mozilla, a Firefox user reported suffering from a crash that developers determined could result in an exploitable memory corruption problem. In certain cases after a return from a native function, the just-in-time (JIT) compiler could get into a corrupt state. This could then be exploited by an attacker to run arbitrary code. However, this vulnerability does not affect earlier versions of Firefox, which do not support the JIT feature. Firefox 3.5 users can avoid this vulnerability by disabling the JIT compiler as described in the Mozilla Security Blog*. This workaround is, however, unnecessary for Firefox 3.5.1 users.
* http://blog.mozilla.com/security/2009/07/14/critical-javascript-vulnerability-in-firefox-35/
> On the other hand, the vulnerability in Microsoft Video ActiveX Control allows remote code execution if a user views a specially crafted web page with Internet Explorer, executing the ActiveX control. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than those who operate with administrative user rights.
> Microsoft is aware of attacks attempting to exploit the said vulnerabilities and advises its customers to prevent the OWC from running either manually or automatically using the solution found in Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 973472*.
* http://support.microsoft.com/kb/973472#FixItForMe
Trend Micro advises users to refer to the following pages to download updates/patches for the vulnerabilities the aforementioned script files exploit:
• Firefox: Mozilla Foundation Security Advisory 2009-41
http://www.mozilla.org/security/announce/2009/mfsa2009-41.html
• OWC: Microsoft Security Advisory (973472)
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/973472.mspx
• DirectShow: Microsoft Security Bulletin MS09-032
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS09-032.mspx ..."

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Multi-browser hole exploited by banking trojan

FYI...

Multi-browser hole exploited by banking trojan
- http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-10363836-245.html
September 29, 2009 - "Researchers at security firm Finjan have discovered details of a new type of banking Trojan horse that doesn't just steal your bank log in credentials but actually steals money from your account while you are logged in and displays a fake balance. The bank Trojan, dubbed URLZone, has features designed to thwart fraud detection systems which are triggered by unusual transactions, Yuval Ben-Itzhak, chief technology officer at Finjan, said in an interview Tuesday. For instance, the software is programmed to calculate on-the-fly how much money to steal from an account based on how much money is available. It exploits a hole in Firefox, Internet Explorer 6, IE7, IE8, and Opera, and it is different from previously reported banking Trojans, said Ben-Itzhak. The Trojan runs an executable only on Windows systems, he said. The executable can come via a number of avenues, including malicious JavaScript or an Adobe PDF, he added. The specific Trojan Finjan researchers analyzed targeted customers of unnamed German banks, according to the latest Finjan report*. It was linked back to a command-and-control server in Ukraine that was used to send instructions to the Trojan software sitting inside infected PCs. Finjan has notified German law enforcement... This is the first Trojan Finjan has come across that hijacks a victim's browser session, steals the money while the victim is doing online banking, and then covers its tracks by modifying information displayed to the victim, all in real time, Ben-Itzhak said. People should keep their antivirus, operating system, browser and other software up to date to protect against this type of attack, he said."
* http://www.finjan.com/Content.aspx?id=1367
"... cybercrooks used a combination of Trojans and money mules to rake in hundreds of thousands of Euros and to minimize detection by the anti-fraud systems used by banks. After infection, a bank Trojan was installed on the victims’ machines and started communication with its Command & Control (C&C) server for instructions. These instructions included the amount to be stolen from specific bank accounts and to which money mule-accounts the stolen money should be transferred. The use of this Anti anti-fraud method signals a new trend in cybercrime."
- http://www.finjan.com/MCRCblog.aspx?EntryId=2345
Sep 30, 2009

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Rogue AV spreads thru XSS attacks in browsers

FYI...

Rogue AV spreads thru XSS attacks in browsers
- http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/12/16/rogue_av_attacks/
16 December 2009 - "Malware purveyors are exploiting web vulnerabilities in appleinsider .com, lawyer .com, news .com.au and a dozen other sites to foist rogue anti-virus on unsuspecting netizens. The ongoing attacks are notable because they use exploits based on XSS, or cross-site scripting, to hide malware links inside the URLs of trusted sites... As a result, people who expect to visit sites they know and trust are connected to a page that tries to trick them into thinking their computer is infected... The links work because appleinsider .com and the rest of the sites being abused fail to filter out harmful characters used in XSS attacks. More about the attack is available from the Zscaler blog here*."
* http://research.zscaler.com/2009/12/xss-embedded-iframes.html

> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-site_scripting#Exploit_scenarios

> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Browser_exploit

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Malicious JS infects websites

FYI...

Malicious JavaScript infects websites
- http://blog.trendmicro.com/malicious-javascript-infects-websites/
Dec. 31, 2009 - "Trend Micro threat analysts were alerted to the discovery of several compromised websites inserted with a JavaScript. The JavaScript is detected by Trend Micro as JS_AGENT.AOEQ. When executed, JS_AGENT.AOEQ uses a defer attribute, which enables it to delay executing its routine, that is, -redirecting- the user to several malicious websites. This is done so users will not suspect that they are already infected. In addition, this malicious JS is hosted on PHP servers. If a user visits an infected website, it will display a white screen... Upon analysis, it was observed that the code (found on most infected sites) begins with /*GNUGPL*/try{window.onload=function(){var or /*CODE1*/ try{window.onload = function(){va. According to the Unmask Parasites blog*, the cybercriminals behind this attack incorporated certain legitimate sites’ names such as Google, Bing, and WordPress, among others, in their code to appear as a legitimate URL..."
* http://blog.unmaskparasites.com/

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Browser -redirects- on the Web...

FYI...

Browser -redirects- on the Web...
> http://forums.spybot.info/showpost.php?p=357168&postcount=193
January 25, 2010 - "It has been a month since we added detection for Troj/JSRedir-AK* and figures generated today show that over 40% of all web-based detections have been from this malicious code. Translating the numbers into a more human comprehensible form: 1 site every 15 secs was being detected as Troj/JSRedir-AK... will redirect the web browser to other malicious websites..."

Q4 '09 web-based malware data and trends
> http://forums.spybot.info/showpost.php?p=357350&postcount=194
January 26, 2010

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FYI...

Safari v4.0.5...
- http://secunia.com/advisories/39670
Last Update: 2010-05-18
Criticality level: Highly critical
Solution Status: Unpatched...
- http://web.nvd.nist.gov/view/vuln/detail?vulnId=CVE-2010-1939
CVSS v2 Base Score: 7.6 (HIGH)
- http://web.nvd.nist.gov/view/vuln/detail?vulnId=CVE-2010-1940
CVSS v2 Base Score: 4.3 (MEDIUM)

Firefox v3.6.3...
- http://nvd.nist.gov/nvd.cfm?cvename=CVE-2010-1986
- http://nvd.nist.gov/nvd.cfm?cvename=CVE-2010-1987
- http://nvd.nist.gov/nvd.cfm?cvename=CVE-2010-1988 CVSS v2 Base Score: 10.0 (HIGH)
- http://nvd.nist.gov/nvd.cfm?cvename=CVE-2010-1990
Last revised: 05/21/2010
- https://wiki.mozilla.org/Releases
Firefox 3.6.4 - June 1 ...

IE 6, 7, and 8
- http://web.nvd.nist.gov/view/vuln/detail?vulnId=CVE-2010-1991
Last revised: 05/21/2010
CVSS v2 Base Score: 5.0 (MEDIUM)

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Safari v5.0 / IE MS10-035 released

FYI...

Safari v5.0 released
- http://secunia.com/advisories/40105/
Release Date: 2010-06-08
Criticality level: Highly critical
Impact: Security Bypass, Cross Site Scripting, Spoofing, Exposure of system information, Exposure of sensitive information, System access
Where: From remote ...
Solution: Update to version 4.1 (available only for Mac OS X v10.4 systems) or upgrade to version 5.0.
Original Advisory: Apple:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4196
...Note: Safari 5.0 and Safari 4.1 address the same set of security issues. Safari 5.0 is provided for Mac OS X v10.5, Mac OS X v10.6, and Microsoft Windows systems. Safari 4.1 is provided for Mac OS X v10.4 systems.

- http://support.apple.com/downloads/
June 07, 2010

- http://www.apple.com/support/safari/

- http://secunia.com/advisories/40110/
Release Date: 2010-06-08
Solution Status: Unpatched ...
... The security issue is confirmed in version 5.0 for Windows. Other versions may also be affected...

- http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/06/08/safari_5_reader/
8 June 2010
___

MS Security Bulletin MS10-035 - Critical
Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer (982381)
- http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms10-035.mspx
June 08, 2010 - "... resolves five privately reported vulnerabilities and one publicly disclosed vulnerability in Internet Explorer. The most severe vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user views a specially crafted Web page..."

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