Vulnerability Note VU#747233

Motive Communications ActiveUtils EmailData ActiveX control stack buffer overflows

Original Release date: 14 Aug 2007 | Last revised: 13 Apr 2009

Overview

The Motive Communications ActiveUtils EmailData ActiveX control contains multiple stack buffer overflows, which could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable system.

Description

Motive Communications ActiveUtils is a software package used by multiple ISPs to provide service activation, system configuration, and other diagnostics capabilities. The file ActiveUtils.dll provides multiple ActiveX controls that provide this functionality. The ActiveX control ActiveEmailTest.EmailData contains multiple stack buffer overflow vulnerabilities.

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

Please see the Motive Security Bulletin. This vulnerability is also addressed by Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-045. This update sets the kill bit for the vulnerable control.


Disable the Motive EmailData ActiveX control in Internet Explorer

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

    {D256B2D9-9C58-445A-8C38-C3AAA84EF137}
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\{D256B2D9-9C58-445A-8C38-C3AAA84EF137}]
    "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
MotiveAffected12 Dec 200601 Feb 2007
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 CERT/CC.

This document was written by Will Dormann.

Other Information

  • CVE IDs: CVE-2007-0319
  • Date Public: 14 Aug 2007
  • Date First Published: 14 Aug 2007
  • Date Last Updated: 13 Apr 2009
  • Severity Metric: 5.42
  • Document Revision: 17

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