Vulnerability Note VU#380277

IBM Access Support eGatherer ActiveX control buffer overflow

Overview

The IBM Access Support eGatherer ActiveX control contains a buffer overflow vulnerability, which may allow a remote unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable system.

I. Description

The IBM Access Support eGatherer ActiveX control has the ability to collect system information, such as make, model, serial number, OS version, etc. This control is available on the IBM / Lenovo web site, and also may come pre-installed on IBM and Lenovo computer systems. This control contains a buffer overflow vulnerability.

II. 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.

III. Solution

Apply an update

This vulnerability is addressed in version 3.20.0284.0 of the eGatherer ActiveX control.

Disable the eGatherer ActiveX control

The eGatherer ActiveX control can be disabled by setting the kill bit for the following CLSID:

{

74FFE28D-2378-11D5-990C-006094235084

}

More information about how to set the kill bit is available in Microsoft Support Document 240797.

Disable ActiveX

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

Systems Affected

Vendor	Status	Date Notified	Date Updated
IBM Corporation	Vulnerable	8-Sep-2006

References

http://research.eeye.com/html/advisories/published/AD20060816.html
http://secunia.com/advisories/21528/
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/19554
http://securitytracker.com/id?1016705
http://xforce.iss.net/xforce/xfdb/28418

Credit

This vulnerability was reported by Will Dormann of CERT/CC. It was also independently reported by eEye Digital Security, who in turn credit Derek Protas

This document was written by Will Dormann.

Other Information

Date Public:	2006-08-17
Date First Published:	2006-09-08
Date Last Updated:	2007-03-08
CERT Advisory:
CVE-ID(s):	CVE-2006-4221
NVD-ID(s):	CVE-2006-4221
US-CERT Technical Alerts:
Metric:	29.77
Document Revision:	8

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

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