Software Engineering Institute

Intuit QuickBooks Online Edition is a version of QuickBooks that is implemented as an ActiveX control. This ActiveX control contains several dangerous methods, such as httpGETToFile() and httpPOSTFromFile(). These methods can be used to download or upload files in arbitrary locations.

By convincing a victim to view an HTML document (web page, HTML email, or email attachment), an attacker could download arbitrary files to a vulnerable system within the security context of the user running IE. These files could contain code that could be executed through other means. The user may click the file inadvertently, or the file may be placed in a sensitive location, such as the Windows Startup folder where it will automatically execute the next time the user logs onto the system. An attacker can also retrieve arbitrary files from a victim's computer.

Apply an update

This issue is addressed in version 10 of the QuickBooks Online Edition ActiveX control. The fixed version of the QuickBooks Online Edition ActiveX control can be installed from the QuickBooks Online Edition web site.

The vulnerable ActiveX controls are also disabled in Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-069.

Disable the QuickBooks Online Edition ActiveX control in Internet Explorer

The vulnerable QuickBooks Online Edition ActiveX controls (versions 9 and earlier) can be disabled in Internet Explorer by setting the kill bit for the following CLSIDs:

{CF9DEB90-8DE3-11D5-BAE4-00105AAAFF94}
{4F720B9C-24B1-4948-A035-8853DC01F19E}
{2EFF8C97-F2A8-4395-9F47-9A06F998BF88}
{2CC3D8DE-18BF-43ff-8CB8-21B442300FD5}
{DBB177CC-6908-4b53-9BEE-F1C697818D65}
{A80D199B-CFDD-4da4-8C47-2310D5B8DD97}
{0D3983A9-4E29-4f33-8313-DA22B29D3F87}
{D92D7607-05D9-4dd8-B68B-D458948FB883}
{8CE3BAE6-AB66-40b6-9019-41E5282FF1E2}
{40F8967E-34A6-474a-837A-CEC1E7DAC54C}
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_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX
Compatibility\{CF9DEB90-8DE3-11D5-BAE4-00105AAAFF94}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX
Compatibility\{4F720B9C-24B1-4948-A035-8853DC01F19E}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX
Compatibility\{2EFF8C97-F2A8-4395-9F47-9A06F998BF88}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX
Compatibility\{2CC3D8DE-18BF-43ff-8CB8-21B442300FD5}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX
Compatibility\{DBB177CC-6908-4b53-9BEE-F1C697818D65}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX
Compatibility\{A80D199B-CFDD-4da4-8C47-2310D5B8DD97}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX
Compatibility\{0D3983A9-4E29-4f33-8313-DA22B29D3F87}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX
Compatibility\{D92D7607-05D9-4dd8-B68B-D458948FB883}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX
Compatibility\{8CE3BAE6-AB66-40b6-9019-41E5282FF1E2}]
"Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX
Compatibility\{40F8967E-34A6-474a-837A-CEC1E7DAC54C}]
"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.