Rule Category

BROWSER-PLUGINS -- Snort has detected suspicious browser plugin traffic, likely targeting the ActiveX plugin in Internet Explorer, though this could apply to any browser. Attackers have refined techniques to smuggle extensions into the Chrome Web Store, which they can then modify remotely once downloaded to add or activate malicious or spyware features. This can be similar to a Potentially Unwanted Application, as valuable data and network access is often allowed on a phone or browser without proper investigation. Some extensions also mimic more well-known and trusted ones (AdBlock, etc.)

Alert Message

BROWSER-PLUGINS Microsoft Internet Explorer ADODB.Stream ActiveX function call access

Rule Explanation

The WebBrowser ActiveX control, or the Internet Explorer HTML rendering engine (MSHTML), as used in Internet Explorer 6, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code in the Local Security context by using the showModalDialog method and modifying the location to execute code such as Javascript, as demonstrated using (1) delayed HTTP redirect operations, and an HTTP response with a Location: header containing a "URL:" prepended to a "ms-its" protocol URI, or (2) modifying the location attribute of the window, as exploited by the Download.ject (aka Scob aka Toofer) using the ADODB.Stream object. Impact: CVSS base score 10.0 CVSS impact score 10.0 CVSS exploitability score 10.0 confidentialityImpact COMPLETE integrityImpact COMPLETE availabilityImpact COMPLETE Details: Ease of Attack:

What To Look For

This rule is triggered when an ActiveX controller is used to execute code as a local user using the ADODB.STREAM.

Known Usage

No public information

False Positives

No known false positives

Contributors

Talos research team. This document was generated from data supplied by the national vulnerability database, a product of the national institute of standards and technology. For more information see [nvd].

Rule Groups

No rule groups

CVE

Additional Links

Rule Vulnerability

Command Injection

Command Injection attacks target applications that allow unsafe user-supplied input. Attackers transmit this input via forms, cookies, HTTP headers, etc. and exploit the applications permissions to execute system commands without injecting code.

CVE Additional Information

This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
CVE-2004-0549
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CVE-2009-3576
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MITRE ATT&CK Framework

Tactic: Initial Access

Technique: Drive-by Compromise

For reference, see the MITRE ATT&CK vulnerability types here: https://attack.mitre.org