Vulnerability Note VU#166521

MSN Messenger and Windows Live Messenger webcam stream heap overflow

Original Release date: 28 Aug 2007 | Last revised: 13 Sep 2007

Overview

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

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.

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.

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 (Learn More)

VendorStatusDate NotifiedDate Updated
Microsoft CorporationAffected21 Aug 200728 Aug 2007
If you are a vendor and your product is affected, let us know.

CVSS Metrics (Learn More)

Group Score Vector
Base N/A N/A
Temporal N/A N/A
Environmental N/A N/A

References

Credit

This vulnerability was publicly reported by team509.

This document was written by Will Dormann.

Other Information

  • CVE IDs: CVE-2007-2931
  • Date Public: 31 Jan 2007
  • Date First Published: 28 Aug 2007
  • Date Last Updated: 13 Sep 2007
  • Severity Metric: 3.54
  • Document Revision: 8

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