Adobe issues official workaround for PDF vulnerability

For consumers, open up the Preferences panel and click on “Trust Manager” in the left pane. Clear the check box “Allow opening of non-PDF file attachments with external applications“.

For administrators who wish to accomplish this with a registry setting on Windows, add the following DWORD value to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\\Originals

Name: bAllowOpenFile
Type: REG_DWORD
Data: 0

Furthermore, an administrator can grey out the preference to keep end-users from turning this capability on, by adding the following DWORD value to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\\Originals

Name: bSecureOpenFile
Type: REG_DWORD
Data: 1

Source:
http://blogs.adobe.com/adobereader/2010/04/didier_stevens_launch_function.html

Posted in Internet, Security, Software | 1 Comment

Vulnerability in Internet Explorer could allow remote code execution

Microsoft has released a Microsoft security advisory about this issue for IT professionals. The security advisory contains additional security-related information. To view the security advisory, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/981374.mspx

Two Fix it solutions are available:

• Fix it solution for peer factory in iepeers.dll - We have created an application compatibility database that will disable peer factory in the iepeers.dll binary for supported versions of Internet Explorer on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.
• Fix it solution for Data Execution Prevention - We have created an application compatibility database that will enable Data Execution Prevention (DEP) for all versions of Internet Explorer that support DEP. You do not need this database if you are using Internet Explorer 8 on Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) or on Windows Vista SP1 or later versions. This is because Internet Explorer 8 opts-in to DEP by default on these platforms.

Fix It page:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/981374

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Energizer DUO USB battery charger software allows unauthorized remote system access

Energizer DUO is a USB battery charger. Included with the charger is a Windows application that allows the user to view the battery charging status. The installer for the Energizer DUO software places the file UsbCharger.dll in the application’s directory and Arucer.dll in the Windows system32 directory. When the Energizer UsbCharger software executes, it utilizes the UsbCharger.dll component for providing USB communication capabilities. UsbCharger.dll executes Arucer.dll via the Windows rundll32.exe mechanism, and it also configures Arucer.dll to execute automatically when Windows starts by creating an entry in the HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run registry key.

Source:
http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/154421

Posted in General BS, Hardware, Internet, Privacy, Security | 2 Comments

Vulnerability in VBScript Could Allow Remote Code Execution

Microsoft is investigating new public reports of a vulnerability in VBScript that is exposed on supported versions of Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 through the use of Internet Explorer. Our investigation has shown that the vulnerability cannot be exploited on Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Vista, or Windows Server 2008. The main impact of the vulnerability is remote code execution. We are not aware of attacks that try to use the reported vulnerabilities or of customer impact at this time.

The vulnerability exists in the way that VBScript interacts with Windows Help files when using Internet Explorer. If a malicious Web site displayed a specially crafted dialog box and a user pressed the F1 key, arbitrary code could be executed in the security context of the currently logged-on user. On systems running Windows Server 2003, Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration is enabled by default, which helps to mitigate against this issue.

Source:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/981169.mspx

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NMAP 5 Cheatsheet

Here’s a nice little cheatsheet for NMAP 5 making it’s rounds today on the internet:

http://sbdtools.googlecode.com/files/Nmap5%20cheatsheet%20eng%20v1.pdf

Very handy.

Posted in Internet, Networking, Security, Software | No Comments