CVE-2016-3205 in Internet Explorer
Summary
by MITRE
The Microsoft (1) JScript 5.8 and (2) VBScript 5.7 and 5.8 engines, as used in Internet Explorer 9 through 11 and other products, allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted web site, aka "Scripting Engine Memory Corruption Vulnerability," a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-3206 and CVE-2016-3207.
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/24/2022
This vulnerability represents a critical memory corruption flaw within Microsoft's scripting engines that affected Internet Explorer versions 9 through 11 and other applications utilizing JScript 5.8 and VBScript 5.7 and 5.8. The vulnerability stems from improper handling of memory allocation and deallocation during script execution, creating opportunities for attackers to manipulate memory structures through carefully crafted web content. The flaw specifically impacts the scripting engine's ability to properly manage heap memory, allowing for potential arbitrary code execution or system crashes when processing maliciously constructed script code.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves memory corruption patterns that align with common software security weaknesses documented in CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions, and CWE-787, which covers out-of-bounds write operations. Attackers exploit this weakness by constructing malicious web pages that trigger specific code paths within the scripting engine, causing memory corruption that can be leveraged for privilege escalation or denial of service conditions. The vulnerability operates at the intersection of memory management and scripting language execution, where improper bounds checking allows attackers to overwrite memory locations that control program flow or data integrity.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risk to enterprise environments where Internet Explorer remains in use, particularly in legacy systems where patching may be delayed or restricted. The remote exploitation capability means that attackers can compromise systems through web browsing activities without requiring local access or user interaction beyond visiting malicious websites. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203, which covers exploitation for execution, and T1059, covering command and scripting interpreter usage. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple code execution to include potential privilege escalation scenarios, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where users may have elevated privileges.
Organizations should implement comprehensive mitigation strategies including immediate patching of affected systems, deployment of browser hardening measures, and implementation of network-based protections such as web application firewalls and content filtering solutions. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and implementing defense-in-depth strategies. Security teams should also consider implementing monitoring for suspicious web traffic patterns and anomalous script execution behaviors that might indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, user education regarding safe browsing practices and the avoidance of untrusted websites remains crucial in reducing the attack surface for this and similar vulnerabilities.