CVE-2009-3672 Vulnerability Analysis & Exploit Details

CVE-2009-3672
Vulnerability Scoring

9.3
/10
Critical Threat

An extreme security risk, CVE-2009-3672 must be addressed immediately to prevent system compromise.

Attack Complexity Details

  • Attack Complexity: Medium
    Attack Complexity Analysis In Progress
  • Attack Vector: Network
    Vulnerability is exploitable over a network without physical access.
  • Privileges Required: None
    No authentication is required for exploitation.
  • Scope:
    Impact is confined to the initially vulnerable component.
  • User Interaction: None
    No user interaction is necessary for exploitation.

CVE-2009-3672 Details

Status: Modified

Last updated: 🕐 21 Nov 2024, 01:07 UTC
Originally published on: 🕦 02 Dec 2009, 11:30 UTC

Time between publication and last update: 5467 days

CVSS Release: version 2

CVE-2009-3672 Vulnerability Summary

CVE-2009-3672: Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 and 7 does not properly handle objects in memory that (1) were not properly initialized or (2) are deleted, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via vectors involving a call to the getElementsByTagName method for the STYLE tag name, selection of the single element in the returned list, and a change to the outerHTML property of this element, related to Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and mshtml.dll, aka "HTML Object Memory Corruption Vulnerability." NOTE: some of these details are obtained from third party information. NOTE: this issue was originally assigned CVE-2009-4054, but Microsoft assigned a duplicate identifier of CVE-2009-3672. CVE consumers should use this identifier instead of CVE-2009-4054.

Assessing the Risk of CVE-2009-3672

Access Complexity Graph

The exploitability of CVE-2009-3672 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).

Exploitability Analysis for CVE-2009-3672

Moderate complexity but no authentication required makes CVE-2009-3672 a potential risk.

Understanding AC and PR

A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.

Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.

Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.

CVSS Score Breakdown Chart

Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2009-3672, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.

CIA Impact Analysis

Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2009-3672, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.

  • Confidentiality: None
    CVE-2009-3672 does not compromise confidentiality.
  • Integrity: None
    CVE-2009-3672 does not impact data integrity.
  • Availability: None
    CVE-2009-3672 does not affect system availability.

Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS)

The EPSS score estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the near future.

EPSS Score: 92.286% (probability of exploit)

EPSS Percentile: 99.25% (lower percentile = lower relative risk)
This vulnerability is less risky than approximately 0.75% of others.

CVE-2009-3672 References

External References

CWE Common Weakness Enumeration

CWE-94

CAPEC Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification

  • Code Injection CAPEC-242 An adversary exploits a weakness in input validation on the target to inject new code into that which is currently executing. This differs from code inclusion in that code inclusion involves the addition or replacement of a reference to a code file, which is subsequently loaded by the target and used as part of the code of some application.
  • Leverage Executable Code in Non-Executable Files CAPEC-35 An attack of this type exploits a system's trust in configuration and resource files. When the executable loads the resource (such as an image file or configuration file) the attacker has modified the file to either execute malicious code directly or manipulate the target process (e.g. application server) to execute based on the malicious configuration parameters. Since systems are increasingly interrelated mashing up resources from local and remote sources the possibility of this attack occurring is high.
  • Manipulating User-Controlled Variables CAPEC-77 This attack targets user controlled variables (DEBUG=1, PHP Globals, and So Forth). An adversary can override variables leveraging user-supplied, untrusted query variables directly used on the application server without any data sanitization. In extreme cases, the adversary can change variables controlling the business logic of the application. For instance, in languages like PHP, a number of poorly set default configurations may allow the user to override variables.

Vulnerable Configurations

  • cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:internet_explorer:6:sp1:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:internet_explorer:6:sp1:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_2000:*:sp4:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_2000:*:sp4:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:internet_explorer:6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:internet_explorer:6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2003:*:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2003:*:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:*:*:itanium:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:*:*:itanium:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:*:*:x32:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:*:*:x32:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:*:*:x64:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:*:*:x64:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:*:sp2:x64:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:*:sp2:x64:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:-:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:-:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:-:sp2:itanium:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:-:sp2:itanium:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:-:sp2:x86:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:-:sp2:x86:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_vista:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_vista:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_vista:*:sp1:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_vista:*:sp1:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_vista:*:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_vista:*:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_xp:*:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_xp:*:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_xp:*:sp3:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_xp:*:sp3:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_xp:-:sp2:x64:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_xp:-:sp2:x64:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:internet_explorer:7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:internet_explorer:7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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