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HTML Rendering Crashes IE

Posted by michael on from the tough-job dept.

SlimySlimy writes "According to this article on Secunia, a new IE exploit was found that crashes almost any version of Internet Explorer past 4.0 with just 5 lines of plain HTML code (no JavaScript, ActiveX, etc.). If you're very brave, you can test/crash your IE by going here." There's also a note on SecurityFocus.

18 of 887 comments (clear)

  1. Wonder if that works deeper in a page by ShieldW0lf · · Score: 4, Funny

    Could wreak havoc in html-enabled forums

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    -1 Uncomfortable Truth
  2. Where is this IE you speak of? by westyvw · · Score: 5, Funny

    I have looked all over my computer for this IE thingy you all speak of. I cant find it anywhere. I typed "whereis ie" in the console but nothing turned up. I typed find / -name IE and again nothing. I looked for a man page found none. I clicked on the gear icon thing and looked though the programs installed I dont have it. So I typed apt-get IE. No luck. Must be some obscure piece of software that I cant find. Guess I am better of WITHOUT IT!

  3. Couldn't resist. by jkitchel · · Score: 5, Funny


    Who else couldn't resist from clicking on the link that would crash IE?

  4. Re:what happens? by miguel_at_menino.com · · Score: 4, Funny

    It generates an e-mail to Steve Balmer.

    That's why he freaks out sometimes and starts screaming DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS!!

  5. Re:Hah! I've got something that will crash IE also by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny
    note: there is a bogus semicolon after the /td when I preview this post... it shouldn't be there, but I can't get rid of it.
    does IE crash when you use backspace?
  6. What I really want to see... by weave · · Score: 4, Funny

    I want to see some simple HTML code that will crash a spammer's email harvesting web crawler. Now THAT would be "News.*that matters..."

  7. Re:OS X IE Is Unaffected by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    It seems that IE 5.x on MacOS X is not affected by this.

    I've had it. I'm switching.

  8. Re:Opera and Mozilla are not affected. by spectral · · Score: 5, Funny

    And the funny part is, you only need the input line. So therefore putting something like this on your page: <a href="about:<input type die>">Click here</a> to crash IE. will also work. Though it kind of gives it away how it works if you look at the status bar. Too bad /.'s filter won't let me post that link properly. Bleh. :)

  9. This is correct behavior by Christian+Schladetsc · · Score: 5, Funny

    // html_parser.cpp,v (C) 1990- Microsoft #include "html/parser.h" template void html_block(II F, II L) { for (; F != L; ++F) if (tag(*F)()) for (++F; F != L; ++F) if (tag(*F)::Type::val == Type::Crash) __asm int 3; } OK, they didnt use meta-programming C++ techniques, but there's code similiar to that in the IE source. This HTML rudely crashes IE: I didnt make that up. That's the actual contents of the html code that when processed by the HTML parser in IE crashes it. Its safe to look at here, because its not being processed by the parser - its being processed by the text renderer, which just draws text. Read it. Its not hard to understand, even if you've never seen HTML source before. The phrase "input type crash" demonstrates a clear intention, to, um, crash. It was included by the programmers for a number of very good reasons. I dont really care to list them all here. But this is clearly not a "bug". Actually, it shows good engineering practise. Microsoft rox0r. No, really, they do.

  10. Re:Two points of significance for crashes. by evilviper · · Score: 5, Funny
    No matter what the input stream, the application should not respond by crashing.

    Man, do I wish someone would tell the Mozilla team that...
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  11. Re:MSFT Mac Apps by Ninja+Programmer · · Score: 4, Funny
    • Windows Media Player for the Mac (they need a better name for that app) works, but feels like quick and dirty port...
    No big surprise, it feels that way under Windows as well.
  12. Re:Worth Pointing Out, I Think by Vidiot3k · · Score: 5, Funny

    You might want to get that checked out, I don't think it's healthy to fart bugs.

  13. OSS and the w3 falling behind - AGAIN! by IIRCAFAIKIANAL · · Score: 4, Funny

    I mean, IE implements the tags correctly and you all just noticed? Yet again we see that Microsoft IE is ahead of the game, implementing useful tags that the w3 hasn't even thought of yet.

    Why is it that Microsoft is saddled with the burden of creating useful standards? Isn't this supposed to be the job of the w3?

    I expect we'll have to wait a few years to see it in Moz and by then, microsoft will have implemented <input type explode into tiny pieces> or something even more spectacular.

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    Robots are everywhere, and they eat old people's medicine for fuel.
  14. It did not crash Lynx by drunk_as_in_beer · · Score: 5, Funny

    I repeat, it did not crash Lynx.

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    --Drunk as in Beer
  15. Re:mozilla crashes too by craigeyb · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...and most of the time the browser catches infinite loops...

    Give it up for the Halting Problem Solution. Whoo whoo!

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    Social Contract? I don't remember signing any Social Contract!

  16. Re:Inquirer says one line by norweigiantroll · · Score: 5, Funny

    <input type crash>
    It's not a bug, it's a feature! The "crash" input type allows the user to crash the browser. It's very useful and another Microsoft (TM) innovation.

  17. Re:Opera and Mozilla are not affected. by Guppy06 · · Score: 4, Funny

    <input type crash>

    IE is doing exactly what the tag is telling it to do. It's a feature, not a bug!

  18. Re:Two points of significance for crashes. by FauxPasIII · · Score: 4, Funny

    > Internet Explorer is free as well.

    Only in the same sense that the Sports Illustrated football phone is free.

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