You can inject code directly into the application, exposing all data on the server which the application has access to.” “This is basically Remote Code Execution by design.Īn RCE is basically game over. Of the nature of the flaw in the software being used by Patreon, the Detectify Labs writeup on the hack said, In 2015, Patreon got hacked due to what may have been a remote code execution flaw in a public debugger they were using. Silva also discovered similar remote code execution flaws affecting Google and StackOverflow, as well as many software libraries in the programming languages Java, C#, Ruby, Python, Perl, and others. OpenID allows users to log into popular accounts using credentials from providers like Facebook and Google.įacebook’s Bug Bounty program classifies remote code execution flaws as the most serious type of flaw to have since a hacker can do a ton of damage if they are able to run malicious code on Facebook’s servers. This vulnerability was related to Facebook’s processing of XML entities related to OpenID. In 2014, Brazilian hacker Reginaldo Silva found a remote code execution vulnerability in Facebook. VLC Media Player, for example, has a history of remote code execution vulnerabilities dating as far back as 2008. There have been many notable examples of remote code execution hacks in the past, showing the seriousness of this line of cyber attack. A History Of Remote Code Execution Exploitation This perpetuates the reach of the bad file, since ranking depends on existing downloads, with the more popular downloads being preferred by the media player software. Once a hacker is able to dominate the entire subtitle value chain, they can feed users an infected subtitle file, and also ensure that that file stays high in the ranks. What made the situation worse is that attackers are able to manipulate the subtitle text file rankings on subtitle-download websites like Open Subtitles. The lack of a standard makes it harder to implement or enforce security protocols to avoid problems such as the remote code execution vulnerability. Parsing these different formats is a nightmare, and media player-programmers take different approaches to ensure that whatever file a user provides can play. Subtitles for movies come in a variety of formats, like SRT, SBV, SCC, STL, and multiple others. Part of the problem with the media players is due to the fragmented nature of the subtitle formats. All of the media players that Check Point analyzed, face vulnerability to attacks that deliver malign instructions via a subtitle text file. Video players, in another oversight, trust the files that get provided as subtitle text files. Subtitle files face little scrutiny in the world of media streaming, and most users would never think of them as the source of an attack. When the user downloads the file, however, it comes with the hackers’ exploit, enabling the hacker to take over the computer. Alternatively, some media players are set to download the subtitle automatically when the movie begins playing. A user can download these files manually when looking for a subtitle file for a movie. To normal users, these files look like harmless subtitle files. In order to spread the executable malware onto users’ devices, the VLC hackers packaged up the corrupted files in subtitle files for media players. **Vulnerability Exploited Via Manipulated Subtitles ** In case an attacker exploits this remote code execution vulnerability on a user’s computer, the user can entirely lose control over their personal computer. While some of the software vendors have rushed to release patches to address the vulnerability, end users need to upgrade to the latest available versions to avail themselves of the fixes. The scale of the vulnerability demands the attention of users, especially those with affected versions of the media player software. The attackers are then able to take over control of a user’s computer and could do everything from locking the user out to corrupting the user’s data on the hard drive. The hack begins when a user downloads the corrupt subtitle file for a movie onto their computer. The attackers were able to plant corrupted subtitle files. The vulnerability targeted users downloading subtitles from subtitle services. While these are the services that Check Point analyzed, the prevalence of the vulnerability suggests that its reach may go beyond just these media players. The hack affects popular media players VLC Media Player, Kodi, Popcorn Time and Stremio. The cyber security and research firm Check Point on May 23, 2017, reported the discovery of a hack that left 200 million users of multimedia streaming applications vulnerable to attackers. Remote Code Execution Vulnerability In VLC Media Player
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |