Vulnerability Note VU#24447

AOL Instant Messenger exposes local file path during file transfers

Overview

AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) disclose local file paths during transfer.

I. Description

AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) is a program for communicating with other users over the Internet. AIM permits users to transfer files from one client to another. When the file is transferred, the entire local path of the file on the sender's machine is sent to the recipient. This could pose privacy and security risks. An attacker could use this information to extrapolate the location of other files on the victim's machine, and use this information in conjunction with another vulnerability.

II. Impact

Unauthorized disclosure of information about the victim's machine is transmitted to the attacker.

III. Solution

The latest version of AIM allows the user to configure whether the recipient can see the full path of a transferred file. Upgrade to the latest build and enable this feature.

Systems Affected

Vendor	Status	Date Updated
AOL Time Warner	Vulnerable	28-Jan-2002

References

http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/1180

Credit

Our thanks to Daniel P. Stasinski <daniels@karemor.com>, who discovered this vulnerability.

This document was written by Jason Rafail

Other Information

Date Public	05/08/2000
Date First Published	01/31/2002 04:37:28 PM
Date Last Updated	01/31/2002
CERT Advisory
CVE Name	CAN-2000-0383
US-CERT Technical Alerts
Metric	0.69
Document Revision	8

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