Zero-day vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer

Use-after-free error
CVE-2012-4969

The vulnerability was found exploited in the wild and discovered by Eric Romang.

A real-world attack using the vulnerability first appeared in a blog post in Sep.14, 2012. The vulnerability was used by "Nitro" hacking group.

Vulnerability details

Advisory: SB2012091701 - Remote code execution in Microsoft Internet Explorer

Vulnerable component: Microsoft Internet Explorer

CVE-ID: CVE-2012-4969

CVSSv3 score: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:H/RL:O/RC:C

CWE-ID: CWE-416 - Use After Free

Description:

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the target system.

The weakness exists due to use-after-free error in the CMshtmlEd::Exec function in mshtml.dll. A remote attacker can create a specially crafted Web site, trick the victim into viewing it, trigger memory corruption and execute arbitrary code with privileges of the current user.

Successful exploitation of the vulnerability results in arbitrary code execution on the vulnerable system.

Note: the vulnerability was being actively exploited.

Public Exploits:

- Microsoft Internet Explorer - execCommand Use-After-Free (MS12-063) (Metasploit) [Exploit-DB]

External links:

https://technet.microsoft.com/library/security/2757760
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/security/ms12-063
https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/mmpc/2012/09/21/what-you-need-to-know-about-cve-2012-4969/
http://www.sevenforums.com/system-security/260613-should-i-remove-cve-2012-4969-a.html
http://krebsonsecurity.com/tag/cve-2012-4969/
https://www.f-secure.com/en/web/labs_global/cve-2012-4969
https://barracudalabs.com/2012/09/internet-explorer-0day-exploit-cve20124969-its-what-you-cant-see-t...
http://security.stackexchange.com/questions/21237/need-help-on-understanding-obfuscated-code-in-cve-...
https://www.symantec.com/security_response/attacksignatures/detail.jsp?asid=25947
http://contagiodump.blogspot.com/2012/09/cve-2012-4969-internet-explorer-0day.html
http://www.antiy.net/p/sample-of-cve-2012-4969/
https://www.securestate.com/blog/2012/09/21/threat-alert-internet-explorer-zero-day-cve-2012-4969
https://www.trustwave.com/Resources/SpiderLabs-Blog/CVE-2012-4969-and-the-Unnamed-Admin-Panel/

About zero-day vulnerabilities

Zero-day vulnerability is an undisclosed vulnerability in software that hackers can exploit to compromise computer programs, gain unauthorized access to sensitive data, penetrate networks, etc. We consider vulnerability a zero-day when there is no solution provided from software vendor and the vulnerability is being actively exploited by malicious actors.

Zero-day candidate is a potential zero-day vulnerability in software which might have been used in targeted attacks, however there is no evidence to support this suggestion.