Software Engineering Institute

ActiveX

ActiveX is a technology that allows programmers to create reusable software components that can be incorporated into applications to extend their functionality. Internet Explorer is a common Windows application that makes use of ActiveX controls.

McAfee Security Center

McAfee Security Center is a console for managing McAfee products and several aspects of a computer system's security.

The problem

McAfee Security Center provides a "safe for scripting" ActiveX control that contains a buffer overflow. The ActiveX object is called McSubMgr and is provided by the file mcsubmgr.dll.

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 WebOC control) to crash.

Upgrade or patch
Please see McAfee Security Bulletin 407052 for availability of updated versions of the affected software.

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.

Note that disabling ActiveX controls in the Internet Zone will reduce the functionality of some web sites.