Vulnerability Note VU#277313

SAP AG SAPgui MDrmSap ActiveX control code execution vulnerability

Original Release date: 07 Nov 2008 | Last revised: 13 Apr 2009

Overview

The MDrmSap ActiveX control, which is provide with the SAP AG SAPgui software, contains a vulnerability that can allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable system.

Description

SAPgui is a graphical user interface client for SAP software. One of the components provided by SAPgui is an ActiveX control called MDrmSap, which is provided by the file mdrmsap.dll. This ActiveX control was developed by Simba Technologies for use with the SAPgui product. The MDrmSap ActiveX control contains an unspecified flaw that causes Internet Explorer to crash in an exploitable manner when it attempts to instantiate the control.

Impact

By convincing a user to view a specially crafted HTML document (e.g., a web page or an HTML email message or attachment), an attacker may be able to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the user. The attacker could also cause Internet Explorer (or the program using the WebBrowser control) to crash.

Solution

Apply an update

This vulnerability is addressed in the patch provided by SAP Note 1142431 (login required).


Disable the MDrmSap ActiveX control in Internet Explorer

The vulnerable ActiveX control can be disabled in Internet Explorer by setting the kill bit for the following CLSID:

    {B01952B0-AF66-11D1-B10D-0060086F6D97}
More information about how to set the kill bit is available in Microsoft Support Document 240797. Alternatively, the following text can be saved as a .REG file and imported to set the kill bit for this control:
    Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility\{B01952B0-AF66-11D1-B10D-0060086F6D97}]
    "Compatibility Flags"=dword:00000400
Disable ActiveX

Disabling ActiveX controls in the Internet Zone (or any zone used by an attacker) appears to prevent exploitation of this and other ActiveX vulnerabilities. Instructions for disabling ActiveX in the Internet Zone can be found in the "Securing Your Web Browser" document. 

Systems Affected (Learn More)

VendorStatusDate NotifiedDate Updated
SAPAffected07 Jul 200710 Nov 2008
Simba TechnologiesAffected12 Dec 200710 Nov 2008
eEyeUnknown12 Nov 200812 Nov 2008
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 reported by Will Dormann of the CERT/CC.

This document was written by Will Dormann.

Other Information

  • CVE IDs: CVE-2008-4387
  • Date Public: 07 Nov 2008
  • Date First Published: 07 Nov 2008
  • Date Last Updated: 13 Apr 2009
  • Severity Metric: 10.94
  • Document Revision: 11

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