Watch out if you're using AOL

This just came in from the National Cyber-Alert System,

Take a look at this alert. Be careful when you are changing or modifying parts or elements in the registry. If you are in doubt, take a look at the

National Cyber-Alert System
Vulnerability Summary CVE-2007-6250
Original release date: 1/9/2008
Last revised: 1/10/2008
Source: US-CERT/NIST


AOL Radio AOLMediaPlaybackControl.exe stack buffer overflow

Overview

The AOL AOLMediaPlaybackControl application contains a stack buffer overflow, which may allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable system.

I. Description

AOL includes an ActiveX control called AmpX, which is used with AOL Radio for streaming audio in web pages. The AOL AmpX ActiveX control, which is provided by AmpX.dll, uses a program called AOLMediaPlaybackControl.exe. The AOLMediaPlaybackControl application contains a stack buffer overflow that is exploitable via the AmpX ActiveX control's AppendFileToPlayList() method.

II. Impact

By convincing a user to view a specially crafted HTML document (e.g., a web page or an HTML email message or attachment), an attacker may be able to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the user.

III. Solution

Apply an update

This vulnerability is addressed in an unspecified automatic update provided by AOL, which removes the AmpX control and AOLMediaPlaybackControl.exe. The AmpX ActiveX control version 2.6.2.6 also prevents the buffer overflow vulnerability in AOLMediaPlaybackControl.exe from being reached. This update is also available as a manual install as the Unagi update. If you are unable to apply an update, please consider the following workarounds

Disable the AmpX ActiveX control in Internet Explorer

The ActiveX control associated with AOLMediaPlaybackControl.exe can be disabled in Internet Explorer by setting the kill bit for the following CLSIDs:

{B49C4597-8721-4789-9250-315DFBD9F525}
{FA3662C3-B8E8-11D6-A667-0010B556D978}

More information about how to set the kill bit is available in Microsoft Support Document 240797. Alternatively, the following text can be saved as a .REG file and imported to set the kill bit for these controls:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility\{B49C4597-8721-4789-9250-315DFBD9F525}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility\{FA3662C3-B8E8-11D6-A667-0010B556D978}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400

Disable ActiveX

Disabling ActiveX controls in the Internet Zone (or any zone used by an attacker) appears to prevent exploitation of this and other ActiveX vulnerabilities. Instructions for disabling ActiveX in the Internet Zone can be found in the "Securing Your Web Browser" document.
Systems Affected
Vendor Status Date Updated
America Online, Inc. Vulnerable 11-Jan-2008

As always, safe surfing,

Darrell Mishler

M & D Creative Concepts LLC

Web Design Services

M & D Online Shopping