Skip the navigation
News

Russian sites using new IE bug to install spyware

Unpatched flaw in VML processing is vector for attacks

By Robert McMillan
September 19, 2006 12:00 PM ET

IDG News Service - Hackers are taking advantage of a newly discovered vulnerability in Internet Explorer (IE) to install spyware on PCs that visit a number of Russian pornography sites.

The malware, first reported Monday by researchers at Sunbelt Software Inc., takes advantage of an unpatched flaw in the way Microsoft Corp.'s IE processes Vector Markup Language (VML) code. VML is a language used to display graphic information on the Web. (See: FAQ: What you should know now about the latest IE bug.)

The attack appears to work on all versions of Windows running the IE 6 browser, said Eric Sites, Sunbelt's vice president of research and development. "It's not an operating system-dependent issue," he said.

Sunbelt first discovered the malware on a Russian porn site late Friday. "This site and a couple of others use an exploit kit called Web Attacker, and it looks like the Web Attacker kit has been upgraded to include this new exploit," Sites said.

Since Friday, Sunbelt noticed that the attack code has popped up on about a half-dozen Russian porn sites. In addition, since security researchers estimate that Web Attacker is used by nearly 1,000 Web sites, this latest exploit should soon become more widespread.

Web Attacker is a software development kit sold for as little as $20 to criminals looking for an easy way to develop malware.

"Since it's being built into the next version of the Web Attacker kit, we expect that this thing will be everywhere in a few days," said Sites.

Whether the attacks will be widespread enough for Microsoft to rush to patch the flaw remains to be seen.

On Tuesday, Microsoft confirmed the Sunbelt team's findings, and said it planned to fix the VML bug in its next set of security patches, scheduled to be released on Oct. 10, "or sooner as warranted," according to a statement from the company's public relations agency.

This is the second unpatched flaw found in IE over the past week. On Sept. 14, researchers posted code that could be used to exploit a different vulnerability in a multimedia component of the Web browser. Microsoft is still investigating that flaw and is not saying whether it too will be patched next month.

Sunbelt said that users can avoid the VML attack by disabling JavaScript on their browsers.

Reprinted with permission from IDG.net. Story copyright 2010 International Data Group. All rights reserved.
Additional Resources
Forrester Consulting - Optimizing Users and Applications in a Mobile World
WHITE PAPER
Solving application issues over the WAN requires careful consideration. Based on their independent research, Forrester Consulting offers recommendations on how to tackle application performance issues, insufficient bandwidth and the inability to quickly restore users in a disaster.

Read now.

Security KnowledgeVault
WHITE PAPER
Security is not an option. This KnowledgeVault Series offers professional advice how to be proactive in the fight against cybercrimes and multi-layered security threats; how to adopt a holistic approach to protecting and managing data; and how to hire a qualified security assessor. Make security your Number 1 priority.

Read now.

Cut Communications Costs Once and for All
WHITE PAPER
New IP-based communications systems are being deployed by small and midsized businesses at a rapid rate. Learn how these organizations are enabling faster responsiveness, creating better customer experiences, speeding office or mobile interactions, and dramatically reducing existing communications costs.

Read now.

Malware and Vulnerabilities White Papers
Reducing the Cost and Complexity of Web Vulnerability Management
Hackers and cybercriminals are constantly refining their attacks and targets; which means you need agile tools to stay ahead of them.

Download this...
Overcome Top 7 Admin Challenges of Active Directory
As Active Directory's role in the enterprise has drastically increased, so has the need to secure the data. Gain insight on creating repeatable,...
Insiders Can Ruin Your Company. Take Action.
Did you know that 80 percent of threats to an organization come from the inside? The threat from insiders is often overlooked in...
Top Solutions and Tools to Prevent Devastating Malware
Custom malware frequently goes undetected. According to Forrester Research, the best way to reduce risk of breach is to deploy file integrity monitoring...
Streamline Compliance and Increase ROI
Streamline, simplify, and automate compliance related activities; especially those that impact multiple business units. This white paper from NetIQ, outlines solutions that will...
All Malware and Vulnerabilities White Papers
Malware and Vulnerabilities Webcasts
Optimizing Networks for the Cloud
Join guest speaker, Rohit Mehra, IDC Director of Enterprise Communications Infrastructure, to explore current trends, discuss best practices for optimizing Data Center and...
Apps QuickStart Series Part 2: Designing and Deploying SQL Server on VMware vSphere
Download this webcast to learn about the design considerations for virtualizing SQL workloads, performance and scalability information and high-availability options, as well as...
Apps QuickStart Series Part 1: Designing and Deploying Exchange 2010 on VMware vSphere
Download this webcast to learn the virtual hardware design considerations for Exchange 2010, deployment using the building block approach, options for high-availability and...
Customer Spotlight: How IPC The Hospitalist Company Implemented Oracle on VMware
Have you been looking to hear about customer's experiences with the new VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager product? View this webcast to learn...
Virtualize Business-Critical Applications with Confidence
Virtualizing business-critical applications has become a key focus for organizations as they move along their virtualization journey. With the launch of VMware vSphere®...
All Malware and Vulnerabilities Webcasts
Newsletter Sign-Up

Receive the latest news test, reviews and trends on your favorite technology topics

Choose a newsletter
  1. View all newsletters | Privacy Policy
IT Jobs