CVE-2010-5236 in Easy Media Creator
Summary
by MITRE
Untrusted search path vulnerability in Roxio Easy Media Creator Home 9.0.136 allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse homeutils9.dll file in the current working directory, as demonstrated by a directory that contains a .roxio, .c2d, or .gi file. NOTE: some of these details are obtained from third party information.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/30/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2010-5236 represents a critical untrusted search path issue affecting Roxio Easy Media Creator Home 9.0.136, which falls under the broader category of path traversal and privilege escalation flaws. This vulnerability exploits the software's improper handling of dynamic link library (dll) loading mechanisms, specifically when processing media files with extensions such as .roxio, .c2d, and .gi. The flaw demonstrates a classic security weakness where applications fail to properly validate or sanitize the paths from which they load shared libraries, creating an opportunity for malicious actors to inject unauthorized code.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through a Trojan horse attack vector where a local attacker places a malicious homeutils9.dll file in the current working directory of the vulnerable application. When Roxio Easy Media Creator processes a media file with one of the specified extensions, it attempts to load the homeutils9.dll library from the current working directory without proper validation of the library's authenticity or source. This behavior directly violates security principles of secure coding and demonstrates poor input validation practices. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it leverages the application's legitimate file processing functionality to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the user running the application, potentially leading to privilege escalation.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability presents a significant risk to end-user systems as it requires minimal user interaction to exploit. The attack can be executed simply by placing a malicious dll file in a directory containing a targeted media file, making it particularly effective for social engineering attacks or automated exploitation campaigns. The vulnerability affects local users specifically, meaning that an attacker must already have access to the target system to exploit it, but once exploited, the consequences can be severe including full system compromise, data theft, or installation of persistent backdoors. The impact is further amplified by the fact that many users may not be aware of the specific file types that trigger this behavior, making detection and prevention more challenging.
Security professionals should consider this vulnerability in the context of the CWE (Common Weakness Enumeration) catalog, specifically mapping it to CWE-427: Uncontrolled Search Path Element, which describes the weakness where an application searches for files in a way that can be manipulated by an attacker to load malicious code. Additionally, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK techniques related to privilege escalation and persistence, particularly T1068: Exploitation for Privilege Escalation and T1059: Command and Scripting Interpreter. The recommended mitigations include implementing proper dll loading security measures such as using absolute paths for library loading, employing secure coding practices for dynamic library resolution, and applying the principle of least privilege to limit the impact of successful exploits. Users should also be advised to avoid placing unknown or untrusted files in directories that may be processed by vulnerable applications, and system administrators should consider implementing application whitelisting policies to prevent unauthorized dll loading.