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AOL YGP Pic Downloader Plugin ActiveX control buffer overflow

Vulnerability Note VU#661524

Original Release Date: 2006-10-09 | Last Revised: 2006-10-12

Overview

The AOL YGP Pic Downloader ActiveX control contains a buffer overflow vulnerability, which may allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable system.

Description

The AOL YGP (You've Got Pictures) Pic Downloader ActiveX control is a component that comes with AOL software. This ActiveX control contains a buffer overflow vulnerability.

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 code with the privileges of the user. The attacker could also cause Internet Explorer (or the program using the WebBrowser control, such as the AOL browser) to crash.

Solution

Apply an update

This issue is addressed by AOL 9.0 automatic updates. Log in to the AOL service to receive the appropriate update automatically. Users with AOL older than version 9.0 are recommended to upgrade to the latest version of AOL.


Disable the AOL YGP Pic Downloader ActiveX control

The AOL YGP Pic Downloader ActiveX control can be disabled by setting the kill bit for the following CLSID:

{D670D0B3-05AB-4115-9F87-D983EF1AC747}
More information about how to set the kill bit is available in Microsoft Support Document 240797.

Disable ActiveX

Disabling ActiveX controls in the Internet Zone (or any zone used by an attacker) appears to prevent exploitation of this vulnerability. Instructions for disabling ActiveX in the Internet Zone can be found in the "Securing Your Web Browser" document and the Malicious Web Scripts FAQ.

Vendor Information

661524
 
Expand all

America Online, Inc. Affected

Notified:  March 13, 2006 Updated: October 09, 2006

Status

Affected

Vendor Statement

Overview

AOL has recently been made aware of a security vulnerability present in
two ActiveX controls available with AOL client software. The two
vulnerable controls are:

* YGP Pic Downloader - Shipped with AOL "You've Got Pictures" software
* YGP ScreenSaver - Screensaver add-on for the AOL "You've Got Pictures"
software

Successful exploitation of either vulnerability may result in an
attacker being able to execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable system.


Affected Products and Applications

All AOL software versions are affected by this issue.


Solutions

1.  Users of AOL 9.0 or AOL 9.0 Security Edition are recommended to log
in to the AOL service and a fix will be seamlessly applied to their system.

2.  Users using versions of AOL that are older than 9.0 are strongly
recommended to upgrade to the latest version of AOL 9.0 Security Edition.


Acknowledgments

AOL would like to thank CERT/CC for their assistance in identifying and
responsibly reporting these issues.

Vendor Information

The vendor has not provided us with any further information regarding this vulnerability.


CVSS Metrics

Group Score Vector
Base
Temporal
Environmental

References

Acknowledgements

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

This document was written by Will Dormann.

Other Information

CVE IDs: CVE-2006-3888
Severity Metric: 12.53
Date Public: 2006-10-09
Date First Published: 2006-10-09
Date Last Updated: 2006-10-12 19:53 UTC
Document Revision: 16

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