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Vulnerabilities in Macromedia Flash Player from Adobe Allows Code
Execution (MS06-069)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY
Several remote code execution vulnerabilities exist in Macromedia Flash
Player from Adobe because of the way that it handles Flash Animation (SWF)
files. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by constructing a
specially crafted Flash Animation (SWF) file that could potentially allow
remote code execution if a user visited a Web site containing the
specially crafted SWF file. The specially crafted SWF file could also be
sent as an e-mail attachment. A user would only be at risk if opening this
e-mail attachment. An attacker who successfully exploited these
vulnerabilities could take complete control of an affected system.
DETAILS
Affected Software:
* Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 -
<http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=93208e57-5f14-4fb2-bc0c-2c4f3c56274a>
Download the update
* Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition -
<http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=93208e57-5f14-4fb2-bc0c-2c4f3c56274a>
Download the update
Non-Affected Software:
* Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4
* Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service
Pack 1
* Microsoft Windows Server 2003 for Itanium-based Systems and Microsoft
Windows Server 2003 with SP1 for Itanium-based Systems
* Microsoft Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition
* Windows Vista
Mitigating Factors for Macromedia Flash Player Vulnerabilities -
CVE-2006-3311, CVE-2006-3014, CVE-2006-3587, CVE-2006-3588, CVE-2006-4640:
* Customers that have followed the guidance in Adobe Security Bulletin
APSB06-11 are not at risk from the vulnerabilities.
* By default, Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4, Microsoft Windows
Server 2003 and Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 do not ship
with Flash Player installed. However, customers that have installed a
version of Macromedia Flash Player on these versions of Windows are
encouraged to follow the guidance in the Adobe Security Bulletin
APSB06-11.
* In a Web-based attack scenario, an attacker would have to host a Web
site that contains a Web page that is used to exploit these
vulnerabilities. An attacker would have no way to force users to visit a
malicious Web site. Instead, an attacker would have to persuade them to
visit the Web site, typically by getting them to click a link that takes
them to the attacker's Web site.
* An attacker who successfully exploited these vulnerabilities could gain
the same user rights as the local user. Users whose accounts are
configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted
than users who operate with administrative user rights.
* The Restricted sites zone helps reduce attacks that could try to
exploit these vulnerabilities by preventing Active Scripting and ActiveX
controls from being used when reading HTML e-mail. However, if a user
clicks on a link within an e-mail they could still be vulnerable to this
issue through the Web-based attack scenario described previously.
By default, Outlook Express 6, Outlook 2002, and Outlook 2003 open HTML
e-mail messages in the Restricted sites zone. Additionally Outlook 2000
opens HTML e-mail messages in the Restricted sites zone if the Outlook
E-mail Security Update has been installed. Outlook Express 5.5 Service
Pack 2 opens HTML e-mail messages in the Restricted sites zone if
Microsoft Security Bulletin MS04-018 has been installed.
Workarounds for Macromedia Flash Player Vulnerabilities - CVE-2006-3311,
CVE-2006-3014, CVE-2006-3587, CVE-2006-3588, CVE-2006-4640:
Microsoft has tested the following workarounds. While these workarounds
will not correct the underlying vulnerability, they help block known
attack vectors. When a workaround reduces functionality, it is identified
in the following section.
* Temporarily prevent the Flash Player ActiveX control from running in
Internet Explorer for Windows XP Service Pack 2
You can help protect against these vulnerabilities by temporarily
preventing the Flash Player ActiveX control from running in Internet
Explorer. On Windows XP Service Pack 2 use the Internet Explorer Manage
Add-ons feature to disable the ActiveX control.
1. Start Internet Explorer.
2. On the Tools menu, click Manage Add-ons.
3. Locate and click on Shockwave Flash Object .
4. To disable the add-on, click Disable, and then click OK.
Note If you cannot locate the ActiveX control then use the drop-down box
to switch from Add-ons currently being used in Internet Explorer to
Add-ons that have been used by Internet Explorer and follow steps 3 and
4. If the ActiveX control is not present in this list you either have not
used the ActiveX control before or it is not present on your system. See
the workaround Temporarily prevent the Flash Player ActiveX control from
running in Internet Explorer for additional information.
For more information on the Internet Explorer Manage Add-ons feature in
Windows XP Service Pack 2, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article
<http://support.microsoft.com/kb/883256> 883256.
Impact of Workaround: Applications and Web sites that require the Flash
Player ActiveX control may no longer function correctly. If you implement
this workaround it would affect any Flash Player ActiveX control you have
installed on your system.
To regain functionality you need to use the Internet Explorer Manage
Add-ons feature to enable the ActiveX control.
* Temporarily prevent the Flash Player ActiveX control from running in
Internet Explorer
Temporarily prevent attempts to instantiate the Flash Player ActiveX
control in Internet Explorer by setting the kill bit for the control.
Warning If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious
problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system.
Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from
using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.
We recommend that you back up the registry before you edit it.
Use the following text to create a .reg file that temporarily prevents
attempts to instantiate the Flash Player ActiveX control in Internet
Explorer. You can copy the following text, paste it into a text editor
such as Notepad, and then save the file with the .reg file name extension.
Run the .reg file on the vulnerable client.
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX
Compatibility\{1171A62F-05D2-11D1-83FC-00A0C9089C5A}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX
Compatibility\{D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX
Compatibility\{D27CDB70-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400
Close Internet Explorer, and reopen it for the changes to take effect.
For detailed steps about stopping a control from running in Internet
Explorer, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 240797. Follow these steps
and create a Compatibility Flags value in the registry to prevent the
Flash Player ActiveX control from running in Internet Explorer.
Impact of Workaround: Applications and Web sites that require the Flash
Player ActiveX control may no longer function correctly. If you implement
this workaround it would affect any Flash Player ActiveX control you have
installed on your system.
To regain functionality you need to undo the kill bits for the Flash
Player ActiveX control remove the registry keys added to temporarily
prevent attempts to instantiate the Flash Player ActiveX control in
Internet Explorer.
* Modify the Access Control List on the Flash Player ActiveX control to
temporarily prevent it from running in Internet Explorer
To modify the Access Control List (ACL) on the Flash Player ActiveX
control to be more restrictive, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, click Run, type "cmd" (without the quotation marks), and
then click OK.
2. Type the following commands at a command prompt. Make a note of the
current files ACLs, including inheritance settings. You may need this list
if you have to undo these modifications:
cacls %windir%\system32\Macromed\Flash\Flash.ocx
3. Type the following command at a command prompt to deny the everyone
group access to this file:
echo y|cacls %windir%\system32\Macromed\Flash\Flash.ocx /d everyone
4. Close Internet Explorer, and reopen it for the changes to take effect.
Impact of Workaround: Applications and Web sites that require the Flash
Player ActiveX control may no longer function correctly. If you implement
this workaround it would affect any Flash Player ActiveX control you have
installed on your system.
To regain functionality you need to undo the modifications to the Access
Control List on the ActiveX control you have on your system.
* Un-register the Flash Player ActiveX Control
To un-register the Flash Player ActiveX control, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, click Run, type "regsvr32.exe /u
%windir%\system32\Macromed\Flash\Flash.ocx" (without the quotation marks),
and then click OK.
2. A dialog box confirms that the un-registration process has succeeded.
Click OK to close the dialog box.
3. Close Internet Explorer, and reopen it for the changes to take effect.
Impact of Workaround: Applications and Web sites that require the Flash
Player ActiveX control may no longer function correctly. If you implement
this workaround it would affect any Flash Player ActiveX control you have
installed on your system.
To reregister the Flash Player ActiveX control, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, click Run, type "regsvr32.exe
%windir%\system32\Macromed\Flash\Flash.ocx" (without the quotation marks),
and then click OK.
2. A dialog box confirms that the registration process has succeeded.
Click OK to close the dialog box.
3. Close Internet Explorer, and reopen it for the changes to take effect.
* Restrict access to the Macromedia Flash folder by using a Software
Restriction Policy
To restrict access to the Macromedia Flash folder
(%windir%\system32\Macromed\Flash\) on Windows XP and later versions you
can create a Software Restriction Policy. To create this policy, use a
registry script or create a Group Policy setting to block the loading of
the Flash Player ActiveX control.
For more information about Group Policy, visit the following Microsoft Web
sites:
*
<http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/windowsserver2003/technologies/directory/activedirectory/stepbystep/gpfeat.mspx>
Step-by-Step Guide to Understanding the Group Policy Feature Set
*
<http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/windows2000serv/howto/grpolwt.mspx>
Windows 2000 Group Policy
*
<http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/windowsserver2003/technologies/featured/gp/default.mspx>
Group Policy in Windows Server 2003
Note Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may
require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee
that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be
solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk. For information about how to
edit the registry, view the "Change Keys and Values" Help topic in
Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or view the "Add and Delete Information in
the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe.
We recommend that you back up the registry before you edit it.
Use the following text to create a .reg file to restrict access to the
Macromedia Flash folder. You can copy the following text, paste it into a
text editor such as Notepad, and then save the file with the .reg file
name extension. Run the .reg file on the vulnerable client.
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Safer\CodeIdentifiers]
"TransparentEnabled"=dword:00000002
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Safer\CodeIdentifiers\0\Paths\{2742f840-c2d8-4eb3-a486-0a9d0879f29f}]
"LastModified"=hex(b):10,c3,8a,19,c6,e3,c5,01
"Description"="Block Macromedia Flash"
"SaferFlags"=dword:00000000
"ItemData"=hex(2):25,00,77,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,69,00,72,00,25,00,5c,00,73,00,\
79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,6d,00,61,00,63,00,72,00,6f,\
00,6d,00,65,00,64,00,5c,00,66,00,6c,00,61,00,73,00,68,00,5c,00,2a,00,00,00
* Change your Internet Explorer settings to prompt before running ActiveX
controls or disable ActiveX controls in the Internet security zone and in
the Local intranet security zone
You can help protect against these vulnerabilities by changing your
Internet Explorer settings to prompt before running ActiveX controls. To
do this, follow these steps:
1. In Internet Explorer, click Internet Options on the Tools menu.
2. Click the Security tab.
3. Click Internet, and then click Custom Level.
4. Under Settings, in the ActiveX controls and plug-ins section, under Run
ActiveX controls and plug-ins, click Prompt or Disable, and then click OK.
5. Click Local intranet, and then click Custom Level.
6. Under Settings, in the ActiveX controls and plug-ins section, under Run
ActiveX controls and plug-ins, click Prompt or Disable, and then click OK.
7. Click OK two times to return to Internet Explorer.
Impact of Workaround: There are side effects to prompting before running
ActiveX controls. Many Web sites that are on the Internet or on an
intranet use ActiveX to provide additional functionality. For example, an
online e-commerce site or banking site may use ActiveX controls to provide
menus, ordering forms, or even account statements. Prompting before
running ActiveX controls is a global setting that affects all Internet and
intranet sites. You will be prompted frequently when you enable this
workaround. For each prompt, if you feel you trust the site that you are
visiting, click Yes to run ActiveX controls. If you do not want to be
prompted for all these sites, use the following method:
Restrict Web sites to only your trusted Web sites.
After you set Internet Explorer to require a prompt before it runs ActiveX
controls and Active Scripting in the Internet zone and in the Local
intranet zone, you can add sites that you trust to Internet Explorer's
Trusted sites zone. This will allow you to continue to use trusted Web
sites exactly as you do today, while helping to protect you from this
attack on untrusted sites. We recommend that you add only sites that you
trust to the Trusted sites zone.
To do this, follow these steps:
1. In Internet Explorer, click Tools, click Internet Options, and then
click the Security tab.
2. In the Select a Web content zone to specify its current security
settings box, click Trusted Sites, and then click Sites.
3. If you want to add sites that do not require an encrypted channel,
click to clear the Require server verification (https:) for all sites in
this zone check box.
4. In the Add this Web site to the zone box, type the URL of a site that
you trust, and then click Add.
5. Repeat these steps for each site that you want to add to the zone.
6. Click OK two times to accept the changes and return to Internet
Explorer.
Add any sites that you trust not to take malicious action on your
computer. Two in particular that you may want to add are
"*.windowsupdate.microsoft.com" and "*.update.microsoft.com" (without the
quotation marks). This is the site that will host the update, and it
requires an ActiveX control to install the update.
* Set Internet and Local intranet security zone settings to High to
prompt before running ActiveX controls in these zones
You can help protect against these vulnerabilities by changing your
settings for the Internet security zone to prompt before running ActiveX
controls. You can do this by setting your browser security to High.
To raise the browsing security level in Microsoft Internet Explorer,
follow these steps:
1. On the Internet Explorer Tools menu, click Internet Options.
2. In the Internet Options dialog box, click the Security tab, and then
click the Internet icon.
3. Under Security level for this zone, move the slider to High. This sets
the security level for all Web sites you visit to High.
Note If no slider is visible, click Default Level, and then move the
slider to High.
Note Setting the level to High may cause some Web sites to work
incorrectly. If you have difficulty using a Web site after you change this
setting, and you are sure the site is safe to use, you can add that site
to your list of trusted sites. This will allow the site to work correctly
even with the security setting set to High.
Impact of Workaround: There are side effects to prompting before running
ActiveX controls. Many Web sites that are on the Internet or on an
intranet use ActiveX to provide additional functionality. For example, an
online e-commerce site or banking site may use ActiveX controls to provide
menus, ordering forms, or even account statements. Prompting before
running ActiveX controls is a global setting that affects all Internet and
intranet sites. You will be prompted frequently when you enable this
workaround. For each prompt, if you feel you trust the site that you are
visiting, click Yes to run ActiveX controls. If you do not want to be
prompted for all these sites, use the following method:
* Remove the Flash Player from your system
If you want to remove the Macromedia Flash Player, refer to the Adobe
Flash Player Support FAQ for instructions.
To regain functionality you need install the current version of the
MacromediaFlash Player ActiveX control from the Adobe Web site.
FAQ for Macromedia Flash Player Vulnerabilities - CVE-2006-3311,
CVE-2006-3014, CVE-2006-3587, CVE-2006-3588, CVE-2006-4640:
What is the scope of the vulnerability?
These are remote code execution vulnerabilities. If a user is logged on
with administrative user rights, an attacker who successfully exploited
any of these vulnerabilities could take complete control of an affected
system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete
data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts
are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less
impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.
What causes the vulnerability?
Memory corruptions when loading specially crafted SWF files in the
Macromedia Flash Player from Adobe.
What might an attacker use the vulnerability to do?
An attacker who successfully exploited any of these vulnerabilities could
take complete control of the affected system.
How could an attacker exploit the vulnerability?
An attacker could host a Web site containing the specially crafted SWF
file that is designed to exploit one or more of these vulnerabilities
through Internet Explorer and then convince a user to view the Web site.
The specially crafted SWF file could also be sent as an e-mail attachment.
A user would only be at risk if opening this e-mail attachment.
What systems are primarily at risk from the vulnerability?
Workstations and terminal servers are primarily at risk. Servers could be
at more risk if users who do not have sufficient administrative
permissions are given the ability to log on to servers and to run
programs. However, best practices strongly discourage allowing this.
What does the update do?
The update removes the vulnerabilities by modifying the way that the Flash
Player handles Flash Animation (SWF) files.
When this security bulletin was issued, had these vulnerabilities been
publicly disclosed?
Microsoft had not received any information to indicate that these
vulnerabilities have been publicly disclosed when this security bulletin
was originally issued. These vulnerabilities are also discussed in the
Adobe Security Bulletin APSB06-11.
When this security bulletin was issued, had Microsoft received any reports
that these vulnerabilities were being exploited?
No. Microsoft had not received any information to indicate that these
vulnerabilities have been publicly used to attack customers.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The information has been provided by Microsoft Product Security.
The original article can be found at:
<http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms06-069.mspx>
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms06-069.mspx
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