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Safari "Carpet Bomb" Attack Still a Risk
SecureThroughObscure writes "Just a short time after Apple's recent acknowledgment of and patch for the Safari Carpet Bomb 'blended' IE flaw, Microsoft researcher Billy Rios shows that Safari is still useful in a blended attack, this time with Firefox 2/3. (ZDNet's Nate McFeters also spread the word.) Rios claimed that he is able to use Carpet Bomb, despite the recent patch, to steal arbitrary files from victims who also have Firefox 2/3 installed. Both Rios and McFeters pointed out that Apple, which took some heat for not originally patching, actually did a good job of addressing the issue, as the code execution angle was not originally understood (the details came out later). Rios is withholding details of the new attack vector until Apple has had time to patch or respond to this issue."
Assuming for a second you are not, it's very telling that your reply is exactly 2 minutes after twitter's post. More importantly, what exactly is the point of your reply? "Good on you"? More likely you are simply replying to your own post to see if you can bring attention to it, which is a game you've been playing for a while now.
being blown out with malicious moderation
I don't see anything malicious about this, you are being moderated negatively because you deserve it. It makes no difference how much you claim you are being "unfairly" targeted by misrepresenting and exaggerating what other people say about you.
The twitter monologues. Click on my homepage and be amazed.
It implies that Safari still has major problems, while the summary clearly states that this issue (that was discovered in Safari), is now found to affect FireFox 2/3. Further, it implies a situation completely opposite of what is stated lower in the summary, that Apple did a good first pass at squashing the attack, and that it is now better understood.
I think a more accurate headline would have stated that FireFox was found to be not immune to a security problem found in IE and Safari. Unfortunately, this would imply that there is a problem with an OSS piece of software (which will quickly be fixed).
-- Len
To put it in terms of an exaggerated slashdot style analogy:
With how MS worded the first attack. (Which was only made usable by faults in MS software.) It would be equivalent to MS shipping a piece of software that changed all your passwords to "password" if you installed Firefox or Safari. Then releasing a statement that reads something like "Firefox and Safari put Windows at a security risk."
It wouldn't be the first time I got the wrong end of the stick, but Rios blog seems to suggest that he has discovered a way to use the original "Carpet Bomb" issue with Firefox to steal user data.
He states that Apple have fixed their part, but seems to be saying that he won't reveal the Firefox issue because...
Mozilla is working on the issue and they've got a responsive team, so I'm sure we'll see a fix soon.
So what are Apple supposed to be patching or responding to?
Anyone else read the article (that way)?
Twitter, I have a reasonable request for you: please stop the sockpuppetry and, more importantly, please stop the trolling.
You seem to take every chance you get to hijack a thread and turn it into Microsoft or Windows bashing, even when it's not the issue at hand. This doesn't help anybody. It especially doesn't help your cause of advocating Linux, and I don't know why you think it does. As a Linux user and advocate (Debian, lenny, if you must know), I wish you would stop. There are far more useful and intelligent ways to spread Linux.
You also use your sockpuppets to try to lend legitimacy to your posts. This definitely doesn't help your cause at all. This pretty much only serves to disrupt slashdot and cause people to turn against you. Everything all of your sockpuppets say could just as easily be said by a single person. The more legitimate posts could definitely be said by a single person, and you might actually get modded up once in a while.
Your habit of accusing everyone who disagrees with you an idiot or a paid troll doesn't help either. The former makes you appear to be an arrogant asshole, as it implies that your opinion is correct, period, and no other opinion is at all legitimate. The latter makes you appear paranoid. This definitely doesn't help you.
So, I have one reasonable solution for you, and I highly suggest you take it: make one more new account. Stop using the twitter account and all of the sock puppets. Never mention twitter or the sock puppets with the new account. Pretty much, ignore your entire slashdot history. Stop hijacking threads into Microsoft bashing. Stop calling Microsoft "M$". I can't really instruct you to change your writing style, so it's entirely likely that people will catch on that it's you again.
As long as you follow my advice in whole, they most likely won't call you on it. Most people here are reasonable, and they'll be happy to live and let live. Hell, if you follow my advice in full and people insist on stalking you, I will personally do my best to stop them. If that includes ruining their karma, so be it (I get 15 mod points at a rate of about once per week, so it wouldn't be particularly hard), but I'd rather not go that route.
Please, just take this advice, and we can make Slashdot a better place for everybody.
Remember, open source is free as in speech, not free as in bear.
The "carpet bombing" attack as i've heard it described is not a software flaw at all.
so they build a site that initiates a large quantity of downloads to your computer.. so what.
it's nothing more than being an a-hole web designer.
the fact it ends up on your desktop is because the user didn't change the windows default settings, and anything that happens from that point on regarding "accidental execution" of one of these littered files is the user's fault.
Why do we need a software nanny state. It's really disgusting that because of stupid people I have to go through 3 separate nags in osX in order to perform mundane tasks.
I'm sorry but user stupidity is not a valid excuse to make every app behave like clippy! "are you sure you want to do this?" "really?" "are you absolutely sure?"
VLC FOR MAC IS DYING! IF YOU DEVELOP, PLEASE SAVE IT!!
He says that the attack he has found can be made without the carpet bomb...
Just as the attack on IE can.
Apple fixing the download-without-prompt attack won't do anything to fix the underlying problem, that just having a file sitting around in the default download directory on Windows can lead to code execution.
I suspect that the Firefox problem is similar.
exactly, this is the fault of Microsoft using "secret" files do fire off IE in the background. Stuff like autoexec on CD roms might use this to start up the program when the directory becomes available. That's a STUPID action to take!!!! Microsoft's only response is RTFM (that we didn't write) and have every program that might download something check for that file name and not download it.
Safari didn't respect the file systems "secret" files and to top it off downloads them without asking first, that in itself is a mistake... but again, it's something that Apple's software will block running until a user approves... that Microsoft doesn't support! Oh the fun!
Wonder what the fun is with Firefox? By default Safari downloads to "desktop" so what special options would Firefox use if it was the default browser?
bah, if you want bad analogies...
The first attack was more like this...
Whenever you (the user) visit some guy's house (a website), I (Safari) will automatically dump scorpions all over your face (desktop). Luckily, they're quite docile little scorpions so as long as you don't touch them (run the downloaded files), you'll be fine.
But then along comes my roommate (Internet Explorer), grabs one of the scorpions and plants it stinger smack dab on your jugular.
Clearly, then, my roommate is to blame. So, never interact with my roommate and oh-by-the-way enjoy walking around with scorpions on your face.
Did I mention that some of those scorpions are excellent at camouflaging themselves? They can make themselves look like the darndest and most benign things... perhaps they'll masquerade themselves as your glasses (some random program you tend to use a lot). You put on your glasses (run the program) like you do every day and *ZING*.
But hey, you probably use an operating system (say, OS X) that I (Safari) runs on that doesn't just let you put your glasses on - perhaps it recognizes that they're not even your glasses, and warns you. Good for you! Say, how are all those scorpions down your pants (download directory) working out for you?
But the above are really just bad analogies. Suffice to say that there's really no good reason to allow a website to litter your desktop -or- your downloads directory with a bunch of files.. but if you -can- think of one: great! you'll be one of those who will check the "allow websites to automatically download files to my computer" checkbox... once (if ever) that makes in, that is.
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Disclaimer: I like Apple (yes, dear commenter from a previous thread.. re-read my post. I do like Apple.), but they can suggest I install it all they want whenever QuickTime goes and updates itself, I'm not touching it - I'm quite fine with FireFox (2.. 'll wait for the v3 dust to settle.)
...err, what is Microsoft doing to fix their end of the problem? I mean, this (IIRC) only works if the victim has Microsoft Windows as their OS.
I mean, this isn't specifically to slam MSFT, but the guy who discovered this works... for Microsoft. The attack vector stops cold if the user is on OSX and/or Linux, but does work in Windows.
So, umm... what's Microsoft doing about this (assuming they can), Mr. Rios?
Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
SO they did fix it. Open your fucking eyes. The blended flaw with IE is already fixed. Now theirs a blended flaw with Safari and Firefox. M$ can't fix Apple's shitty code on their OS.
Angry much?
Your summary for the article is wrong. I'd keep my head down in your position.
Microsoft have not fixed anything. Apple fixed the Safari "Carpet Bomb" issue.
The IE execution issue is still active. Rios is just pointing out that Firefox can also be used to exploit the Safari issue, if the current Safari patch is not deployed.
So just to re-cap: Apple's shitty code is fixed. Microsoft and Mozilla's shitty code needs fixing.
Posting a summary on Slashdot claiming that there is still an unfixed issue in Safari seems a bit like spreading FUD.