Vulnerability Note VU#451556

RealNetworks products vulnerable to buffer overflow via specially crafted MBC file

RealNetworks RealPlayer is a multimedia application that allows users to view local and remote audio/video content.

MBC Files

MBC files are used to for Mimio BoardCast audio sessions. More information on Mimio Boards is available on the Mimio website.

The Problem

Numerous RealNetworks products fail to properly validate MBC files allowing a buffer overflow to occur. By persuading a user to access a specially crafted MBC file with RealPlayer, a remote attacker may be able to execute arbitrary code.

Considerations

A complete list of affected software is available in the RealNetwork Security Update for March 2006.

II. Impact

Apply the patches supplied in the RealNetwork Security Update for March 2006.

Disable RealPlayer in your web browser

An attacker may be able to exploit this vulnerability by embedding the crafted MBC file in a web page and convincing a user to access that page. Disabling RealPlayer in the web browser will eliminate this attack vector thereby reducing the chances of exploitation.

To disable RealPlayer in Microsoft Internet Explorer,disable the RealPlayer ActiveX control. In other web browsers, such as Mozilla Firefox, disable the RealPlayer plugin.

Systems Affected

http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/231028
http://service.real.com/realplayer/security/03162006_player/en/
http://www.mimio.com/
http://secunia.com/advisories/19358/
http://secunia.com/advisories/19362/
http://secunia.com/advisories/19365/
http://secunia.com/advisories/19390/

Credit

This issue was reported in RealNetwork Security Update for March 2006. RealNetworks credits John Heasman of NGSSoftware, Greg MacManus of iDEFENSE Labs, and Sowhat of Nevis Labs with providing information about this vulnerability.

This document was written by Jeff Gennari.

Other Information

If you have feedback, comments, or additional information about this vulnerability, please send us email.