Vulnerability Note VU#230208

Intel Centrino wireless network drivers fail to properly handle malformed frames

Overview

Microsoft Windows drivers for Intel Centrino wireless adapters fail to properly handle malformed frames. This vulnerability may allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code.

I. Description

The Microsoft Windows drivers for Intel Centrino 2200BG and 2915ABG PRO wireless adapters fail to properly handle malformed frames. If a remote attacker within transmitting range of an affected wireless adapter sends a specially crafted frame to that adapter, they may be able to trigger this vulnerability.

Affected drivers include w22n50.sys, w22n51.sys, w29n50.sys, and w29n51.sys. For more information refer to INTEL-SA-00001 .

II. Impact

An unauthenticated, remote attacker may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel-level privileges.

III. Solution

Upgrade Intel drivers

Intel has released updates to address this issue. The Intel support site also provides a tool to assist users in determining the model and version of the wireless adapter they are using.

Public reports indicate there may be compatibility issues when installing the new drivers. Known issues with the new drivers are documented in the driver release notes. Users should consult the release notes specific to their driver before applying updates.

Users are encouraged to consult their OEM and hardware providers to determine the best way to update drivers. From Intel:

It is recommended that you obtain and use the software provided via your laptop manufacturer.

Intel� is a supplier of laptop components and does not manufacture or sell complete laptop systems. The software provided by Intel ... is a generic version. Each laptop computer original equipment manufacturer (OEM) may have altered the features, incorporated customizations, or made other changes to the software or software packaging they provide. The software provided has not been verified by your laptop manufacturer as to compatibility or other operation.

See the systems affected section of this document for more details regarding updates from specific OEMs.

Disable the affected wireless adapter

Until updates can be applied, turning off the affected wireless adapter may mitigate this vulnerability.

Systems Affected

Vendor	Status	Date Notified
Dell Computer Corporation, Inc.	Vulnerable	8-Sep-2006
Hewlett-Packard Company	Unknown	10-Aug-2006
IBM Corporation	Unknown	10-Aug-2006
Intel Corporation	Vulnerable	7-Aug-2006
Microsoft Corporation	Unknown	10-Aug-2006
NEC Corporation	Unknown	10-Aug-2006
Sony Corporation	Unknown	10-Aug-2006
Toshiba	Unknown	10-Aug-2006

References

http://security-center.intel.com/advisory.aspx?intelid=INTEL-SA-00001&languageid=en-fr
http://support.intel.com/support/wireless/wlan/sb/cs-005905.htm
http://support.intel.com/support/wireless/wlan/sb/cs-010623.htm
http://downloadmirror.intel.com/df-support/11141/ENG/relnotes.htm
http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/archives/archive-082006.html#00000940
http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/archives/archive-082006.html#00000938
ftp://download.intel.com/support/wireless/wlan/sb/3945abgug.pdf
http://support.intel.com/support/wireless/wlan/pro2200bg/
ftp://download.intel.com/support/wireless/wlan/pro2200bg/2200BGUG.PDF
http://www.ciac.org/ciac/bulletins/q-268.shtml

Credit

This vulnerability was reported in Intel Security Bulletin CS-023065

This document was written by Ryan Giobbi and Jeff Gennari.

Other Information

Date Public:	2006-07-28
Date First Published:	2006-08-07
Date Last Updated:	2007-05-31
CERT Advisory:
CVE-ID(s):	CVE-2006-3992
NVD-ID(s):	CVE-2006-3992
US-CERT Technical Alerts:
Metric:	12.72
Document Revision:	97

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

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