Vulnerability Note VU#166521

MSN Messenger and Windows Live Messenger webcam stream heap overflow

Overview

MSN Messenger fails to properly handle webcam streams, which may allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code.

I. Description

MSN Messenger is an instant messaging application. Starting with version 8, MSN Messenger was renamed to Windows Live Messenger. Windows Live Messenger and some versions of MSN Messenger support the use of webcams. MSN Messenger and Windows Live Messenger appear to require user interaction to connect a webcam stream.

MSN Messenger and Windows Live Messenger contain a heap overflow in the handling of a malformed webcam streams. Exploit code for this vulnerability is publicly available.

II. Impact

By convincing a user to accept a webcam invitation, a remote attacker may be able to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the user.

III. Solution

Apply an update

This issue is addressed by Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-054. This update provides fixed versions of MSN Messenger 6.2, 7.0, 7.5, and Windows Live Messenger 8.0

Do not accept webcam invitations

If you are unable to install a fixed version, do not accept any webcam invitations, regardless of the source.

Systems Affected

Vendor	Status	Date Notified	Date Updated
Microsoft Corporation	Vulnerable	28-Aug-2007

References

http://secunia.com/advisories/26570/
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms07-054.mspx

Credit

This vulnerability was publicly reported by team509.

This document was written by Will Dormann.

Other Information

Date Public:	2007-01-31
Date First Published:	2007-08-28
Date Last Updated:	2007-09-13
CERT Advisory:
CVE-ID(s):	CVE-2007-2931
NVD-ID(s):	CVE-2007-2931
US-CERT Technical Alerts:
Metric:	3.54
Document Revision:	8

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Produced 2007 by US-CERT, a government organization
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