Microsoft Internet Explorer 9/10/11 Scripting Engine DarkHotel memory corruption

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability marked as critical has been reported in Microsoft Internet Explorer 9/10/11. This affects an unknown function of the component Scripting Engine. The manipulation leads to memory corruption (DarkHotel). This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2019-1367. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. Furthermore, there is an exploit available. To fix this issue, it is recommended to deploy a patch.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Microsoft Internet Explorer 9/10/11 (Web Browser). This issue affects an unknown code of the component Scripting Engine. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a memory corruption vulnerability (DarkHotel). Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-119. The product performs operations on a memory buffer, but it can read from or write to a memory location that is outside of the intended boundary of the buffer. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way that the scripting engine handles objects in memory in Internet Explorer, aka 'Scripting Engine Memory Corruption Vulnerability'. This CVE ID is unique from CVE-2019-1221.

The weakness was shared 09/23/2019 as confirmed security update guide (Website). It is possible to read the advisory at portal.msrc.microsoft.com. The vendor cooperated in the coordination of the public release. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2019-1367 since 11/26/2018. The attack may be initiated remotely. No form of authentication is needed for a successful exploitation. It demands that the victim is doing some kind of user interaction. Technical details are unknown but a private exploit is available. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $5k-$25k at the moment (estimation calculated on 02/07/2025). It is expected to see the exploit prices for this product decreasing in the near future. The advisory points out:

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way that the scripting engine handles objects in memory in Internet Explorer. The vulnerability could corrupt memory in such a way that an attacker could execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the current user. If the current user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could take control of an affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights.

It is declared as attacked. The CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog lists this issue since 11/03/2021 with a due date of 05/03/2022:

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Applying a patch is able to eliminate this problem. A possible mitigation has been published immediately after the disclosure of the vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at Zero-Day.cz (551). zdnet.com is providing further details. The entry VDB-142140 is related to this item. Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Web Browser

Vendor

• Microsoft

Name

• Internet Explorer

Version

• 9
• 10
• 11

License

• commercial

Support

• end of life

Website

• Vendor: https://www.microsoft.com/

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Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

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