Tunneling Shellcode with ActiveX

hdm writes "In the first issue of the Uninformed Journal, skape describes a method for using ActiveX as a transport mechanism for shellcode. The implementation, dubbed 'PassiveX', can be used to tunnel an interactive command shell or full VNC session over the HTTP protocol. PassiveX takes advantage of the Internet Explorer settings to pass through web proxies and escape restrictive outbound firewalls."

Comments

Old news, but nice explanation.

[TripMaster Monkey]

Tunneling other protocols through HTTP is certainly nothing new, and hackers have been using the technology to establish secure communications channels with compromised machines through firewalls as long as the technique has been around.

That being said, I was impressed with the in-depth coverage of this particular type of exploit. A fascinating read...www.uninformed.org is definitely bookmarked.