CyberInsecure.com

Archive for September, 2009

Microsoft has finally removed a function from earlier versions of its Windows operating system that has been widely abused by miscreants to surreptitiously install malware on users’ computers.

The feature, known as AutoRun, allows Windows machines to automatically execute certain programs - such as media players or installers - as soon as CDs, flash drive,s and other types of media are connected. While that saves users the hassle of having to open a folder and doubleclick on a file, it also makes it easy for criminals to spread malicious payloads.

On Friday, Microsoft announced the availability of updates to the XP, Server 2003, Vista and Server 2008 versions of Windows that removes the AutoRun popup window when some types of removable media is connected. The change doesn’t affect optical media such as CDs and DVDs, a shortcoming we’ll get to in a moment.

The company made similar changes in April when it introduced Release Candidate 1 of Windows 7. Microsoft said at the time the move was designed to thwart the spread of worms such as Conficker, which has proved especially adept at self-replicating by exploiting the weakness.

As we pointed out then, the move is a step in the right direction, but it doesn’t go far enough. That’s because certain types of removable drives - those made by U3, for instance - run firmware that advertises the device to Windows as a CD. Such drives will continue to automatically execute the AutoRun routine as soon as they’re plugged in.

The new updates are available at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/971029.

Credit: The Register

Programming errors on a website that helps commuters carpool to work are exposing sensitive information of workers for hundreds of employers in Southern California, including at least one military installation.

The bugs, discovered last month on RideMatch.info, allow hackers access to a variety of personal information, including individuals’ names, home addresses, phone numbers, the times they commute to and from work, and in some cases employee numbers. The SQL injection vulnerability remained active at time of writing, more than two weeks after it was reported to a developer who runs the website.

“There’s sensitive data there that definitely shouldn’t be on the internet,” said Kristian Hermansen, a security researcher who identified the vulnerability after receiving an email from his employer saying he was required by law to provide the information. “The reason I am bringing this to your attention is that the issue is not being fixed by the admins and most companies don’t even know that their employees’ personal and corporate information, like employee ID and login ID, may have been compromised.”

The form Hermansen was required to complete asked for a wealth of personal information, including his typical work hours, the times he begins work on each workday, and his employee ID. “The state can impose monetary penalties on companies that fail to complete this survey,” an email sent by Hermansen’s employer warned.

The website is a joint project developed by transit authorities in five regional governments in Southern California. Individuals enter their work and home addresses and the time they leave from each, and the website pairs them up with others with home and office locations and commute times that are suitable for carpools. Hermansen said virtually all of the data is accessible to anyone who knows how to exploit the vulnerability. His tests revealed that at least one military institution was among the employers that used the website.

A spokesman for the Riverside County Transportation Commission, one of the agencies responsible for the website, said administrators are working to fix the problem with the help of Trapeze Group, an Ontario, Canada-based company that designed the carpool software.

“We’re confident we should have a fix for this in the next few days,” the spokesman, John Standiford, said. “Trapeze being the provider of that software, they’re trying to work with us and I guess others to come to a solution and fix the security problem.”

The security lapse on RideMatch.info is only the latest reminder of the perils of SQL injection vulnerabilities. Three weeks ago, federal prosecutors revealed that hackers who stole more than 130 million payment card numbers were able to penetrate the network defenses of Heartland Payment Systems and four other companies after exploiting the garden-variety bug.

The flaw is the result of web applications that fail to adequately scrutinize user-generated text entered into search boxes and other fields on websites. Hackers can exploit them to pass commands directly to a website’s backend database. Once identified, they can often be fixed in a matter of minutes, by changing a line or two of code.

The other agencies responsible for the site are: The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Orange County Transportation Authority, the San Bernardino Associated Governments and the Ventura County Transportation Commission.

Websense Security Labs has detected that Google searches on terms related to Labor Day sales return results that lead to rogue antivirus software. Labor Day is one of the biggest holidays observed in the US each year. Retail sales events held during this weekend are some of the most anticipated throughout the country.

When Google is used to search for terms related to Labor Day sales, malicious URLs as high as the first result are returned. Upon clicking an affected search-result link, JavaScript code redirects the user to a Web site advising them that their machine is infected with viruses. It then proceeds to offer free (rogue/fake) AV software. AOL and ASK.com are also affected in a similar way.

Screenshot of Web site hosting rogue AV:

Credit: Websense Security Labs

Microsoft has confirmed a vulnerability in its Internet Information Services webserver and spelled out the conditions under which it can be exploited to give an attacker complete control of the server on which it runs.

Remote execution of malicious code can be triggered only in limited cases, and even then, it’s relatively easy to change settings that close that possibility. Even then, exploits can still touch off denial-of-service attacks that completely shut down file transfer protocol.

Proof-of-concept code exploiting the vulnerability was released Monday. Microsoft said it will release a fix as soon as it’s ready.

The vulnerability can be exploited only if IIS is configured to allow FTP and untrusted users have the ability to create their own directories. Users of IIS on Windows 2000 and Windows Small Business Server 2003 face the biggest threat because FTP is enabled by default, but even then, users aren’t given write access unless settings have been changed.

In that case, or in cases where users of version 5.1 have turned on FTP and write access, attackers can gain complete control over servers by listing directories with specially manipulated names that trigger a buffer overflow in the application.

Users of IIS6 also face the possibility of DoS attacks, but because the application was built using a compiler setting that automatically terminates applications that have been attacked, remote execution is a much more remote possibility, Microsoft said. IIS7, because it runs on the more secure Vista and Server 2008 versions of Windows, is not vulnerable.

For those at risk, Microsoft recommends the following workarounds until a patch is released:

Turn off FTP if it’s not needed

Disable the creation of new directories

Disable the ability for anonymous users to write using IIS settings

Microsoft said its working with providers of intrusion prevention systems so they can identify attacks. Meanwhile, admins can detect attacks by reviewing log files.

Credit: The Register