Slashdot Mirror
Internet Explorer Exploit Steals Data From Windows Users-- Even If They Never Use Internet Explorer (mashable.com)
Security researcher John Page has revealed a new zero-day exploit that allows remote attackers to exfiltrate Local files using Internet Explorer. "The craziest part: Windows users don't ever even have to open the now-obsolete web browser for malicious actors to use the exploit," reports Mashable. "It just needs to exist on their computer..."
[H]ackers are taking advantage of a vulnerability using .MHT files, which is the file format used by Internet Explorer for its web archives. Current web browsers do not use the .MHT format, so when a PC user attempts to access this file Windows opens IE by default. To initiate the exploit, a user simply needs to open an attachment received by email, messenger, or other file transfer service...
Most worrisome, according to Page, is that Microsoft told him that it would just "consider" a fix in a future update. The security researcher says he contacted Microsoft in March before now going public with the issue. As ZDNet points out, while Internet Explorer usage makes up less than 10 percent of the web browser market, it doesn't particularly matter in this case as the exploit just requires a user to have the browser on their PC.
Most worrisome, according to Page, is that Microsoft told him that it would just "consider" a fix in a future update. The security researcher says he contacted Microsoft in March before now going public with the issue. As ZDNet points out, while Internet Explorer usage makes up less than 10 percent of the web browser market, it doesn't particularly matter in this case as the exploit just requires a user to have the browser on their PC.
Oh, wait, you mean I have to open a malicious attachment to be exposed to this risk? Your shocking headline had me concerned, for a moment.
User opens malicious attachment. Ok...this is new how?
Also, if a user never has to use IE, then why do they have to open the attachment in IE?
Chrome can open MHTML files, Firefox used to (with an add-on) but not anymore, and there are free viewers available. All one has to do is to set the association of .MHT files to another program.
Tribute to the now sadly defunct [H]ardOCP?
Over 20 years since IE started coming bundled with Windows in a deeply integrated manner. There will be outbreaks of IE malware for years due to the fact so many buisnesnesses only supported IE as their web browser. The same thing will happen with the widespread adoption of chromium instead of developing multiple independant browsers to ensure web diversity. Now Mo$Illa had been bribed to downgrade their browser we are now in the era of adverbrowsers and will contain more ways to attack your browser due to the constant bloat being added to them. Prepare for the Wannacry decade powered by ChromIE.
I think it was supposed to mean that the "h" was lowercase in the featured article but uppercase in the quotation. The corresponding sentence in TFA begins as follows: "Basically, what this means is that hackers are taking advantage of a vulnerability..."
But in this sense, the word was was used in the sense of electronic intruders, not people who enjoy playful cleverness. I personally would have marked the entire first word as rephrased: "[Intruders] are taking advantage of a vulnerability..."
It is a natural use of Mime. And it allows HTML to be used as a document format,in one document.
It is really annoying that the other browsers refused to support it just because it was Microsoft's idea.
on the list of possible risks this ranks low to non-existent for most users as you have to get the fucking exploit file onto the machine in the first place and it is a file type that is basically universally blocked by any sane system and is even the default in MS's own mail products. So no it doesn't just require the user to have IE installed, it requires them to have no file filtering and be a fucking moron (admittedly many meet that bar, but not both).
This is the first app I uninstall when I first use a Windows machine.
The average person can't fix this, but it's not hard. I've never even seen an MHT file. I'm not worried about missing them.
So? Go into HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.mht and HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.mhtml. Change the default value to "txtfile". Delete the content type entry. Now it's just a text file, opened in Notepad.
So here "never used internet explorer" need some context - on whether the exploit is based on files related to opening web files or was it related to the executable.
Contact Chrome, Safari and other browser makers and ask them to prompt the user and get assigned as the default handler for these extensions?
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
What the fuck is the point of calling an exploit "zero day" when the relevant software hasn't been updated in years anyways?
Zero day used to mean that it came out *before* the main release of whatever it applied to, but if there is no otherwise upcoming release, then it isn't really "before" anything... it's just a previously unknown exploit.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
A program that works even when no one use it!
Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
Not even close to a shocking/unknown exploit. Next up: opening .exe files in email attachments may be risky - where do I submit this for MS to pay me?
> To initiate the exploit, a user simply needs to open an attachment received by email, messenger, or other file transfer service.
When you can convince a user to open a malicious attachment, there are many many options open to you. This is nothing new.
There are plenty of corporations that still force their employees to use IE.
Microsoft told us that it was "part of the operating system", so they must be using it if they use Windows.
What's with that bracket?
Normally, you would put [sic] right behind the misspelled word, but in this case it is not. Here is the original quote from TFA...
Basically, what this means is that hackers are taking advantage of a vulnerability using .MHT files, which is the file format used by Internet Explorer for its web archives. Current web browsers do not use the .MHT format, so when a PC user attempts to access this file Windows opens IE by default.
Basically, the summary took a portion of the whole paragraph starting from 'hackers' and later on. As a result, the summary wants to start a sentence with a lower case without quotations and it seems to be grammatically incorrect. Normally, a pair of square brackets is used to correct certain incorrect word in-place for readers. As a result, the word 'hacker' becomes '[H]acker' because it is the starting word of a sentence.
To me, they should simply quote the whole paragraph and stop being smart to just take a portion from TFA. Besides, it is only a small portion that they took out.
You should get a User Account Control prompt, select yes.
To see what the current association is, enter
and press Enter/Return. It'll likely return
and if you wish to check if IE is the handler for that file type enter
and press Enter. If the result mentions iexplore.exe, that's IE.
Enter the following two lines (pressing Enter after each) to break the association for IE archives (there are two extensions associated):
Close the prompt (type exit and press Enter, or click the "X" close window control).
A somewhat safer way (in terms of other possible exploits, not in mucking up your PC) is to use ftype to list any file types opened by IE ( ftype | find "iexplore" ) and then delete those filetypes ( ftype filetype= ), but if you're not confident with what you're doing, skip that.