Software Engineering Institute

Microsoft Internet Explorer supports the use of VBScript, in addition to the more widely-used JavaScript scripting language. Several VBScript commands allow a "HelpFile" parameter to be specified, such as the MsgBox function. This parameter may point to a file on the local filesystem, or it may refer to a file that is hosted remotely via Windows file sharing. When the F1 key is pressed, Internet Explorer will launch Windows Help (winhlp32.exe) to display the specified context-sensitive help file. Because Windows Help .HLP files are unsafe files, this behavior can result in arbitrary code execution.

Exploit code for this vulnerability is publicly available.

By convincing a victim to view an HTML document (web page, HTML email, or email attachment) with Internet Explorer and to press the F1 key, an attacker could run arbitrary code with the privileges of the user running the application.

Apply an update
This issue is addressed in Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-022.

Block outbound SMB traffic

This and other vulnerabilities may be mitigated by blocking outbound SMB traffic from your network to the internet. This can limit the ability to link to a remotely-hosted .HLP file using VBScript.

Do not press F1 while using Internet Explorer

The exploit code for this vulnerability requires the user to press F1 to trigger the context-sensitive help. If F1 is not pressed, then the code is not executed.