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Windows' Built-In PDF Reader Exposes Edge Browser To Hacking (softpedia.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Edge, Microsoft's new browser, uses the WinRT PDF library to automatically embed and present PDF files while navigating the web. This is what Java does with applets, and Flash with SWF files -- it unintentionally allows a hacker to append malicious code to PDF files and trigger drive-by attacks, which exploit WinRT vulnerabilities to target Windows 10 users. All that an attacker needs to do is to find and create a database of WinRT vulnerabilities it could leverage to distribute his malware.
So they are talking about a possibility of exploit and not an actual exploit....
The PDF format v1.7 supports all sorts of crazy stuff (including javascript). Apple was sane, and IIRC, doesn't support PDF 1.7, probably only 1.5 (and not all of it - some features like pdf_packages and nested PDFs didn't work right in previous versions of OSX).
I thought that MS Word proved you shouldn't have script code in your (mainly recognized as printed text) file formats. Of course, leave it to Microsoft to re-learn their own history.
Unless you think they simply don't care about this shit.
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Is there an actual bug in EDGE's PDF viewer, or are we just saying software can have bugs and that people will try to exploit those bugs?
"... is find and create a database of WinRT vulnerabilities...".
You mean the way any piece of software in existence could be exploited by "finding a vulnerability"?
Even the referenced article states that...
...because Windows 10 implemented former EMET features such as ASLR protection and Control Flow Guard, [this] "makes the development of exploits for WinRT PDF vulnerabilities time-consuming and therefore costly for an attacker."
So not only is this utter FUD, it's self-contradictory FUD.
So a story about the possibility of an exploit if a vulnerability can be found for a dead platform (WinRT is the old arm original surface devices that sold like arse). Why the fuck are they even researching this? even if WinRT was wide open with publically known vulnerabilities it would pretty much be a non issue as almost no one uses it so trying to exploit it is pointless. It is like pointing out a security hole in OS/2, or DR DOS.
Firefox also has an internal PDF viewer. Is there any difference? Is there something specific reason that makes the embedded PDF viewer safe in Chrome or Firefox, but not in Edge?
For more information on the hack, click here [pdf]
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...for using Windows 10.
All the article says is because Edge uses a library to open PDFs, someone could potentially find a vulnerability and then exploit it if they are not stopped by extensive sandboxing features by the browser. That's a lot of handwaving and not one concrete exploit.
Slashdot editors can't help themselves. Post original article? No, lets post a monetized site with two generations of dumbing-down.
At this week's RSA USA 2016 conference, I will be presenting my research on the attack surface and exploit mitigations in EdgeHTML, the rendering engine used by the Edge browser on Windows 10. One of the interesting features of EdgeHTML that I will discuss is its ability to use the built-in WinRT PDF Renderer library in Windows for rendering PDFs.
The feature is useful in that users do not need to install and maintain additional software for reading PDFs. However, the feature also opens up another attack surface that can be used to attack the Edge browser. This blog post takes a look at this library and its security implications.
https://securityintelligence.c...
No vulnerabilities cited, let alone exploits? As others have pointed out, this is a non-story about something that could happen, but hasn't yet. This is pure clickbait, and serves little use apart from generating advertising revenue and revealing commenters that know nothing about information security.
Yeah, Windows 10 has had a plethora of highly publicized, named exploits a la heartbleed, shellshock, stagefright, drown, etc. Hey, wait a second...
Windows 10, Microsoft's new operating system, uses the Winsock Sockets library to automatically manage socket connections while navigating the web. This is what Java does with applets, and Flash with SWF files -- it unintentionally allows a hacker to append malicious code to data and trigger drive-by attacks, which exploit Winsock vulnerabilities to target Windows 10 users. All that an attacker needs to do is to find and create a database of Winsock vulnerabilities it could leverage to distribute his malware.
Edge, Microsoft's new browser, uses some HTML library to automatically embed and present HTML files while navigating the web. This is what Java does with applets, and Flash with SWF files -- it unintentionally allows a hacker to append malicious code to HTML files and trigger drive-by attacks, which exploit the HTML library vulnerabilities to target Windows 10 users. All that an attacker needs to do is to find and create a database of HTML library vulnerabilities it could leverage to distribute his malware.
Watch this Heartland Institute video
Didn't Microsoft have similar problems with incorporating third party tools into IE4? And that was like what, 1997?
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