Vulnerability Note VU#202604

Skype for Mac contains a format string error in the handling of URI arguments

Overview

Skype for Mac contains a format string vulnerability in the handling of URIs, which may allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable system.

I. Description

Skype software provides telephone service over IP networks. There is a format string vulnerability in the NSRunAlertPanel function in the routines that handle Skype-specific URIs, such as skype://.

II. Impact

By sending a specially crafted URI to Skype, a remote, unauthenticated attacker may be able to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the user. Such a URI can be sent to Skype by convincing a user to view a specially crafted HTML document (e.g., a web page or an HTML email message or attachment). The attacker could also cause Skype to crash.

III. Solution

Apply an update

This vulnerability is addressed in Skype for Mac release 1.5.*.80 or later.

Systems Affected

Vendor	Status	Date Notified	Date Updated
Skype Technologies	Vulnerable	6-Oct-2006

References

http://www.skype.com/security/skype-sb-2006-002.html
http://www.security-protocols.com/sp-x34-advisory.php
http://secunia.com/advisories/22185/

Credit

This vulnerability was reported by Tom Ferris of Security-Protocols.

This document was written by Will Dormann.

Other Information

Date Public:	2006-10-03
Date First Published:	2006-10-06
Date Last Updated:	2006-10-06
CERT Advisory:
CVE-ID(s):	CVE-2006-5084
NVD-ID(s):	CVE-2006-5084
US-CERT Technical Alerts:
Metric:	8.29
Document Revision:	2

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Produced 2006 by US-CERT, a government organization
Disclaimers and copyright information

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