Attack Code Targets New Unpatched Internet Explorer Holes

Computer code that could be used to hijack Windows PCs via a yet-to-be-patched Internet Explorer flaw has been posted on the Net, experts have warned.

"Microsoft's initial investigation reveals that this exploit code could allow an attacker to execute memory corruption," the representative said. As a workaround to protect against potential attacks, Microsoft suggests Windows users disable ActiveX and active scripting controls.

The flaw is due to an error in an ActiveX control related to multimedia features and could be exploited by viewing a rigged Web page, Symantec said in an alert sent to users of its DeepSight security intelligence service Thursday. An attacker could commandeer a Windows PC or cause IE to crash, the security company said.

IE versions 5.01 and 6 on all current versions of Windows are affected, the French Security Incident Response Team, or FrSIRT, a security-monitoring company, said in an alert Wednesday. FrSIRT deems the issue "critical," its most serious rating.

In another report, published on September 19,2006, a second unpatched vulnerability was just announced.

Miscreants are using an unpatched security bug in Internet Explorer to install malicious software from rigged Web sites, experts warned Tuesday.

The vulnerability lies in the way IE 6 handles certain graphics. Malicious software can be loaded, unbeknownst to the user, onto a vulnerable Windows PC when the user clicks on a malicious link on a Web site or an e-mail message, several security companies said.

"Fully patched Internet Explorer browsers are vulnerable," Ken Dunham, director of the rapid response team at VeriSign's iDefense, said in an e-mailed statement. "This new zero-day attack is trivial to reproduce and has great potential for widespread Web-based attacks in the near future."

Security-monitoring companies Secunia and the French Security Incident Response Team have given the issue their most serious ratings.

Shady adult Web sites are among the first to exploit the IE vulnerability, Eric Sites, vice president of research and development at spyware specialist Sunbelt Software, wrote on a corporate blog. In one case, a malicious Web site used the exploit to install "epic loads of adware," according to Sunbelt.

Microsoft plans to fix the flaw as part of its monthly patching cycle on Oct. 10, the software giant said in a security advisory. The update might be released sooner, "depending on customer needs," Microsoft said. Typically, Microsoft only breaks its patch cycle when attacks are widespread.
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