Information Assurance

Information Assurance

Bugtraq Analysis

Media Analysis - SOURCE NAME

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The vulnerability is that users can execute code on a victims machine by use of AIM and the vulnerabilities inherited from Internet Explorer. The can use the vulnerability that comes along with the use of ActiveX controls.

AIM is the AOL Instant Messenger program that allows real time chats between people on the internet. It comes with enhancements such as file share and buddy icons. Internet Explorer is Microsoft's web browser that has become part of the core of the operating system

This vulnerability uses the AIM buddy icons as a delivery method for writing code to the clients machine using the fact that IE will open and execute a file believing that it only contains HTML when in fact it contains scripts.

To prevent this attack on a personal level turn off scripts within IE. Another option is to turn off buddy Icons. The combination of both is a good idea as similar vulnerabilities could appear in other programs and AIM may have other vulnerabilities related to delivery of the buddy icons.

This could have been prevented by the designers of IE by simply checking to make sure that there was nothing but HTML within the file. This could have been prevented by AOL by realizing the vulnerability offered by microsoft and incorporating a check to make sure that it did not act as a delivery method for malware

This can also be prevented by using a more secure web browser such as Mozilla or Firebird/Firefox.

Disable the ability to write files without express permission from user (but would take away microsoft functionality that they use to modify content because they are a trusted provider).