CVE-2005-1186 in Jukebox
Summary
by MITRE
Musicmatch Jukebox 10.00.2047 and earlier adds the musicmatch.com domain to the Trusted Sites zone in Internet Explorer, which allows systems in the domain to conduct unauthorized activities, as demonstrated using cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/07/2018
The vulnerability described in CVE-2005-1186 represents a significant security flaw in Musicmatch Jukebox version 10.00.2047 and earlier installations. This issue stems from the software's automatic configuration of Internet Explorer's security settings by adding the musicmatch.com domain to the Trusted Sites zone. The Trusted Sites zone in Internet Explorer operates with reduced security restrictions compared to the Internet zone, allowing web content to execute with elevated privileges. When a domain is added to this zone, it effectively grants the websites within that domain the same level of trust as locally installed applications, creating a dangerous attack surface that can be exploited by malicious actors who control content on that domain.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the automatic modification of Internet Explorer's security policy settings through the Windows registry or configuration files. When Musicmatch Jukebox installs and configures the Trusted Sites zone for musicmatch.com, it essentially creates a backdoor that allows any content hosted on that domain to bypass standard browser security restrictions. This configuration change is particularly dangerous because it occurs automatically during installation without explicit user consent or awareness. The vulnerability becomes exploitable when attackers can compromise the musicmatch.com domain or inject malicious content into it, enabling them to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the user running Internet Explorer.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it creates a persistent security weakness that can be leveraged for various malicious activities. Cross-site scripting attacks become significantly more dangerous when the attacker can inject malicious scripts into a domain that has been added to the Trusted Sites zone. This allows attackers to bypass the same-origin policy that normally prevents scripts from one domain from accessing resources on another domain. The vulnerability creates a persistent threat vector that remains active as long as the Musicmatch Jukebox software is installed on the system, providing attackers with a reliable method to maintain access and conduct unauthorized activities.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-264, which addresses permissions, privileges, and access control issues in software systems, and represents a classic case of privilege escalation through improper security configuration. The attack pattern follows elements of the ATT&CK framework's privilege escalation techniques, specifically focusing on the modification of system security settings to gain elevated access. Organizations and users who installed Musicmatch Jukebox were unknowingly creating a security vulnerability that could be exploited by attackers who gained control of the musicmatch.com domain or found other ways to inject malicious content into the trusted environment. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of careful security configuration management and the dangers of automatically modifying browser security settings without explicit user consent or proper security justification.
The mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should include immediate removal of the musicmatch.com domain from the Trusted Sites zone in Internet Explorer, followed by complete uninstallation of the affected Musicmatch Jukebox software. System administrators should also implement proper security monitoring to detect unauthorized modifications to browser security settings and establish policies that prevent automatic security configuration changes. The vulnerability highlights the critical need for software vendors to avoid making automatic security modifications that could create persistent attack vectors, and emphasizes the importance of user awareness regarding software installation processes and their potential security implications. Regular security audits should verify that trusted sites configurations have not been modified by potentially malicious software installations, and that appropriate security controls are in place to prevent such unauthorized modifications.