6th Apr 2003 [SBWID-6112]
COMMAND
Buffer Overflow in Windows QuickTime Player
SYSTEMS AFFECTED
iDEFENSE has confirmed that QuickTime Player versions 5.x and 6.0 for
the Microsoft Windows platform are vulnerable. QuickTime for MacOS is
not vulnerable.
PROBLEM
In iDEFENSE Security Advisory 03.31.03:
http://www.idefense.com/advisory/03.31.03.txt
Texonet (http://www.texonet.com) is credited with discovering this
vulnerability.
--snip--
An exploitable buffer overflow condition has been discovered in Apple
Computer Inc.'s QuickTime Player, allowing for the remote execution of
arbitrary code. The vulnerability lies in the processing of long
QuickTime URL's (quicktime:// or through the -u switch). When
processing a QuickTime URL, the application is launched in the
following manner as can be seen from the Windows registry key
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/quicktime:
%PATH TO QUICKTIME%\QuickTimePlayer.exe -u"%1"
A URL containing 400 characters will overrun the allocated space on the
stack overwriting the saved instruction pointer (EIP). This will
thereby allow an attacker to redirect the flow of control. An example
URL that will cause QuickTime player to crash is:
quicktime://127.0.0.1/AAAA...
Where the character 'A' is repeated 400 times.
--snap--
SOLUTION
Apple has released QuickTime 6.1 which addresses this vulnerability. It
is available from :
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/
WORKAROUND
==========
Removing the QuickTime handler from the web browser or removing the
registry key HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/quicktime can prevent automatic
exploitation through HTML pages.