Vulnerability Note VU#137115

Yahoo! Messenger contains a buffer overflow in the URI handler

Overview

Yahoo! Messenger is an instant messaging client. A remotely exploitable vulnerability has been reported in the URI handler of Yahoo! Messenger.

I. Description

A remotely exploitable buffer overflow exists in the URI handler of Yahoo! Messenger, versions 5,0,0,1064 and prior, that may permit a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the system with the privileges of the current user. A shared buffer for the parameter functions, such as "getimv", "sendim", "message", "addview", "adduser", "call", and "chat", is vulnerable to exploit.

This URI handler is installed by Yahoo! Messenger for applications that use the underlying operating system (such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, Outlook, or the command shell). A URI can be sent by another Yahoo! Messenger user, embedded in a web site, or sent in an HTML-renderable email message.

II. Impact

Exploitation of this vulnerability will crash the application, resulting in a denial-of-service condition. However, this vulnerability is a buffer overflow and may allow the execution of arbitrary code on the local system with the privileges of the current user.

III. Solution

Upgrade to version 5,0,0,1066.

Systems Affected

Vendor	Status	Date Notified	Date Updated
Yahoo	Vulnerable	5-Jun-2002

References

http://online.securityfocus.com/archive/1/274223
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/4837

Credit

This vulnerability was discovered by Phuong Nguyen <dphuong@yahoo.com> of Vice Consulting.

This document was written by Jason Rafail.

Other Information

Date Public:	2002-05-27
Date First Published:	2002-06-05
Date Last Updated:	2002-06-06
CERT Advisory:	CA-2002-16
CVE-ID(s):	CAN-2002-0031
NVD-ID(s):	CAN-2002-0031
US-CERT Technical Alerts:
Metric:	18.98
Document Revision:	31

If you have feedback, comments, or additional information about this vulnerability, please send us email.

Get Adobe Reader