Trustwave SpiderLabs Uncovers Unique Cybersecurity Risks in Today's Tech Landscape. Learn More

Trustwave SpiderLabs Uncovers Unique Cybersecurity Risks in Today's Tech Landscape. Learn More

Services
Capture
Managed Detection & Response

Eliminate active threats with 24/7 threat detection, investigation, and response.

twi-managed-portal-color
Co-Managed SOC (SIEM)

Maximize your SIEM investment, stop alert fatigue, and enhance your team with hybrid security operations support.

twi-briefcase-color-svg
Advisory & Diagnostics

Advance your cybersecurity program and get expert guidance where you need it most.

tw-laptop-data
Penetration Testing

Test your physical locations and IT infrastructure to shore up weaknesses before exploitation.

twi-database-color-svg
Database Security

Prevent unauthorized access and exceed compliance requirements.

twi-email-color-svg
Email Security

Stop email threats others miss and secure your organization against the #1 ransomware attack vector.

tw-officer
Digital Forensics & Incident Response

Prepare for the inevitable with 24/7 global breach response in-region and available on-site.

tw-network
Firewall & Technology Management

Mitigate risk of a cyberattack with 24/7 incident and health monitoring and the latest threat intelligence.

Solutions
BY TOPIC
Microsoft Exchange Server Attacks
Stay protected against emerging threats
Rapidly Secure New Environments
Security for rapid response situations
Securing the Cloud
Safely navigate and stay protected
Securing the IoT Landscape
Test, monitor and secure network objects
Why Trustwave
About Us
Awards and Accolades
Trustwave SpiderLabs Team
Trustwave Fusion Security Operations Platform
Trustwave Security Colony
Partners
Technology Alliance Partners
Key alliances who align and support our ecosystem of security offerings
Trustwave PartnerOne Program
Join forces with Trustwave to protect against the most advance cybersecurity threats
SpiderLabs Blog

DaumGame ActiveX 0day

One might think that vulnerabilities in ActiveX controls are a thing of the past, but we continue to find evidence that they have not. Just this year, dozens of vulnerabilities have been discovered. In some cases an ActiveX exploit is more attractive to an attacker for targeting specific users of certain software or a company that uses certain business applications.

A few weeks ago, we encountered such an example: an unknown vulnerability in an ActiveX control exploited in the wild. It was DaumGame ActiveX, a control required for playing a web game by Daum Communications on their website. Below, I outline the vulnerability and how one particular attacker exploited it.

DaumGame ActiveX (CLSID: 16B6A027-2732-4028-9303-EFE3E95EF766) versions 1.1.0.4 and 1.1.0.5 by Daum Communications include method "IconCreate," which is designed to support icon processing. This method is vulnerable to a classic buffer overflow. Here is the exploit code we discovered in the wild (CVE-2013-7246):

10680_945c1264-a330-4c38-b29a-457141156577
DaumGame ActiveX exploit from the wild

The method, which accepts printable characters, suffers from a buffer overflow vulnerability that leads to an SEH overwrite. A common technique for exploiting SEH involves overwriting the SE handler pointer with a memory address that points to assembly instructions (pop, pop, ret). This technique gives the attacker control over the pointer to the next SE handler and results in remote code execution. This sample, however, uses a less accurate technique to exploit this vulnerability resulting in the wasting of unneeded memory and slowing down the exploitation. Although it probably spared the attacker time in not having to deal with SafeSEH protections.

The attacker sprayed the memory with NOPs and shellcode and then overflowed the stack to overwrite the SEH pointer with an attacker controlled heap address ("0x05050505"). This address was already filled with NOPs and shellcode, which leads to remote code execution.

We reported the vulnerability to vendor Daum Communications, and they fixed the issue and released a patched version 1.1.0.6. We also published an advisory that contains further details on this vulnerability (CVE-2013-7246).

Trustwave's Secure Web Gateway blocked this attack out-of-the-box using its generic protection engine and did so without any additional updates. We have, however, released Security Update 161 to include additional protection against this particular zero-day exploit using the Malware Entrapment Engine.

Latest SpiderLabs Blogs

Why We Should Probably Stop Visually Verifying Checksums

Hello there! Thanks for stopping by. Let me get straight into it and start things off with what a checksum is to be inclusive of all audiences here, from Wikipedia [1]:

Read More

Agent Tesla's New Ride: The Rise of a Novel Loader

Malware loaders, critical for deploying malware, enable threat actors to deliver and execute malicious payloads, facilitating criminal activities like data theft and ransomware. Utilizing advanced...

Read More

Evaluating Your Security Posture: Security Assessment Basics

This is Part 4 in my ongoing project to cover 30 cybersecurity topics in 30 weekly blog posts. The full series can be found here.

Read More