CVE-2005-3560 in ZoneAlarm
Summary
by MITRE
Zone Labs (1) ZoneAlarm Pro 6.0, (2) ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite 6.0, (3) ZoneAlarm Anti-Virus 6.0, (4) ZoneAlarm Anti-Spyware 6.0 through 6.1, and (5) ZoneAlarm 6.0 allow remote attackers to bypass the "Advanced Program Control and OS Firewall filters" setting via URLs in "HTML Modal Dialogs" (window.location.href) contained within JavaScript tags.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/05/2019
This vulnerability resides in Zone Labs ZoneAlarm security software versions 6.0 through 6.1, affecting multiple product variants including ZoneAlarm Pro, Internet Security Suite, Anti-Virus, and Anti-Spyware editions. The flaw represents a critical bypass of the software's core security controls, specifically targeting the Advanced Program Control and OS Firewall filters that are designed to protect against unauthorized network access and program behavior. The vulnerability manifests when malicious actors craft HTML modal dialogs containing JavaScript code that manipulates the window.location.href property to redirect users to potentially harmful URLs. This represents a sophisticated attack vector that exploits the trust relationship between the browser and security software, allowing attackers to circumvent the very protections that users expect to be active when they configure these firewall and program control settings. The technical implementation leverages the inherent capabilities of web browsers to process JavaScript and handle URL redirection, effectively turning the security software's own interface elements against its intended protective function.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple bypass of firewall rules, creating a pathway for attackers to execute malicious code or establish unauthorized network connections while the user believes their security is active. When users encounter HTML modal dialogs in web pages, particularly those containing malicious JavaScript, the ZoneAlarm software fails to properly validate or intercept the URL redirection attempts that occur through window.location.href manipulation. This creates a false sense of security for users who have explicitly enabled the Advanced Program Control and OS Firewall filters, believing these settings provide comprehensive protection against unauthorized network access. The vulnerability demonstrates a fundamental flaw in the software's security validation logic, where the system does not adequately monitor or control the execution of JavaScript code that attempts to redirect browser navigation to external resources. This behavior directly violates the principle of least privilege and fails to maintain the security boundaries that users expect from their endpoint protection software. The attack scenario typically involves phishing campaigns or malicious websites that embed specially crafted HTML content within JavaScript code, exploiting the browser's native handling of URL redirection to bypass security controls.
Security practitioners should understand this vulnerability in the context of CWE-119, which addresses improper access to memory, and CWE-20, which covers input validation issues, as the flaw stems from inadequate validation of user-supplied input within the browser context. The vulnerability also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for JavaScript execution and T1566 for social engineering attacks that leverage web-based delivery mechanisms. Organizations using affected ZoneAlarm versions should immediately implement mitigations including disabling the problematic HTML modal dialog processing, updating to patched versions, and implementing additional network monitoring to detect unauthorized redirection attempts. The vulnerability highlights the importance of comprehensive security validation across all application interfaces and demonstrates the critical need for proper input sanitization when processing web-based content within security software environments. Network administrators should also consider implementing additional web filtering controls and browser security policies to prevent exploitation of this class of vulnerability. The flaw underscores the necessity of maintaining current security software versions and the importance of thorough testing of security controls in real-world usage scenarios where users interact with potentially malicious web content.