Vulnerability Note VU#524681

Macrovision FLEXnet Connect Software Manager DWUpdateService ActiveX control contains dangerous methods

Overview

The Macrovision FLEXnet Connect Software Manager DWUpdateService ActiveX control fails to restrict access to its methods, which can allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary commands on a vulnerable system.

I. Description

Macrovision FLEXnet Connect is a software package that allows vendors to provide updates to applications. FLEXnet Connect-enabled software has the ability to

• Check for updates from the software publisher
• Receive update files and messages from the software publisher
• Install software updates, including the ability to do so silently
• Collect and transmit system information, such as machine name, operating system, IP address, or other hardware details, such as network or video card properties
• Log and transmit each time an application is started, terminated, or when a specific feature within the application is used

FLEXnet Connect includes an ActiveX control called DWUpdateService, which is provided by the file agent.exe. This ActiveX control contains methods called Execute() and GetExitCode(), which can be used to execute with arbitrary parameters any program on the system, as well as check the exit code of the process that was executed.

Note that this control may be provided by installing the FLEXnet Connect SDK, installing other InstallShield software, or also by running FLEXnet Connect-enabled Windows software.

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 commands with the privileges of the user.

III. Solution

Apply an update

Macrovision has addressed this issue with a FLEXnet Connect 6.0 SDK update described in support document Q113020. Note that the installer version that contains the fix is 12.0.0.49974, which was digitally signed on May 22, 2007. The update that was originally published with this document did not contain the fix. Because the vulnerable control may be provided to end-users who do not have the FLEXnet Connect SDK installed, please consider the following workarounds:

Disable the DWUpdateService ActiveX control in Internet Explorer

The vulnerable ActiveX control can be disabled in Internet Explorer by setting the kill bit for the following CLSID:

{551E5190-19C7-4626-9D54-FB20355E6467}

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 this control:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftInternet ExplorerActiveX Compatibility{551E5190-19C7-4626-9D54-FB20355E6467}]
"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
Macrovision	Vulnerable	31-May-2007

References

http://www.cert.org/tech_tips/securing_browser/#Internet_Explorer
http://support.installshield.com/kb/view.asp?articleid=Q113020
http://www.macrovision.com/products/flexnet_publisher/flexnet_connect/
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/240797
http://secunia.com/advisories/25501/

Credit

This vulnerability was reported by Will Dormann of CERT/CC.

This document was written by Will Dormann.

Other Information

Date Public	05/31/2007
Date First Published	05/31/2007 05:02:13 PM
Date Last Updated	06/01/2007
CERT Advisory
CVE Name	CVE-2007-0328
Metric	4.69
Document Revision	8