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HighCISA KEVExploited in the wildPublic exploit

Use-after-free RCE in Microsoft Internet Explorer 6-8 CButton/CDwnBindInfo handling

IdentifiersCVE-2012-4792CWE-416· Use After Free

CVE-2012-4792 is a use-after-free vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 through 8 that can be triggered by a specially crafted web page. The provided content describes the flaw as involving improper object lifetime handling in IE's mshtml engine, including cases where an object was not properly allocated or had already been deleted, with public reporting referencing CDwnBindInfo and CERT/CC advisory text identifying the vulnerable area as the mshtml CButton object. Specially crafted JavaScript can cause Internet Explorer to free the object without clearing all references, leaving a dangling pointer that is later dereferenced, resulting in access to an invalid memory address. The vulnerability was exploited in the wild in December 2012, and observed exploit chains used Adobe Flash for heap spraying and Java for ROP gadgets, although proof-of-concept exploits also existed without heap spraying.

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ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

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Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

Successful exploitation allows a remote, unauthenticated attacker to achieve arbitrary code execution in the security context of the logged-in user when the victim visits a malicious web page or attacker-controlled site. Depending on user privileges, this can lead to full compromise of the affected workstation, malware installation, data theft, and follow-on activity. The content explicitly notes active in-the-wild exploitation and use by threat actors and exploit kits.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

If immediate patching is not possible, use EMET to reduce exploit reliability, apply Microsoft's Fix it workaround intended to force Internet Explorer to fail safely on exploitation attempts, and disable browser plug-ins used in observed exploit chains, specifically Adobe Flash and Java in Internet Explorer. The content also notes setting the kill bit for the relevant Flash CLSID and disabling Java browser content via the Java control panel as practical mitigations.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Apply Microsoft's security update for this issue, referenced in Microsoft Security Bulletin MS13-008, through Windows Update or equivalent enterprise patch management. Upgrade affected Internet Explorer versions and retire unsupported versions where possible. Because the vulnerability affects IE 6 through 8, organizations should prioritize migration away from legacy browsers in addition to deploying the vendor patch.
PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

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VALID 0 / 0 TOTALView more in app

No public exploit code observed for this vulnerability.

EXPOSURE SURFACE

Affected products & vendors

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VendorProductType
Microsoft CorporationIeapplication
Microsoft CorporationInternet Explorerapplication

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Threat actor evidence2

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Associated malware1

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Detection signatures1

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Vendor-by-vendor mapping

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Social activity

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