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posted by chromas on Monday April 09 2018, @06:12PM   Printer-friendly
from the (unsigned⠀int) dept.

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/04/04/microsoft_windows_defender_rar_bug/

A remote-code execution vulnerability in Windows Defender – a flaw that can be exploited by malicious .rar files to run malware on PCs – has been traced back to an open-source archiving tool Microsoft adopted for its own use.

[...] Apparently, Microsoft forked that version of unrar and incorporated the component into its operating system's antivirus engine. That forked code was then modified so that all signed integer variables were converted to unsigned variables, causing knock-on problems with mathematical comparisons. This in turn left the software vulnerable to memory corruption errors, which can crash the antivirus package or allow malicious code to potentially execute.


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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by DannyB on Monday April 09 2018, @08:18PM (8 children)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Monday April 09 2018, @08:18PM (#664647) Journal

    Serious corporations can add value. They can satisfy shareholders, PHBs, and keep selling new versions and fixes -- along with services.

    And they don't have to badmouth FOSS or create FUD to do so.

    Red Hat is one example.

    There are also plenty of big companies that incorporate FOSS code into their products. If they manage to create a security hole in the process . . .

    That forked code was then modified so that all signed integer variables were converted to unsigned variables, causing knock-on problems with mathematical comparisons. This in turn left the software vulnerable to memory corruption errors, which can crash the antivirus package or allow malicious code to potentially execute.

    In other words, Redmond pulled a fork-and-bork.

    . . . then they don't have to blame FOSS for being insecure, nor do they need to create FUD.

    A serious corporation that wants to have credibility can simply say they forked up.

    solar power is really hot right now

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  • (Score: 2) by turgid on Monday April 09 2018, @08:34PM (2 children)

    by turgid (4318) Subscriber Badge on Monday April 09 2018, @08:34PM (#664659) Journal

    This is Micro-"Linux is an Unamerican cancer"-Soft we're talking about here.

    • (Score: 4, Informative) by DannyB on Monday April 09 2018, @08:53PM (1 child)

      by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Monday April 09 2018, @08:53PM (#664671) Journal

      It was Ballmer (developers, Developers, DEVELOPERS!!!, I Love This Monopoly!!!) who said that Linux was a Cancer.

      It was Jim Allchin (who was #4 at Microsoft, at that time, long before Vista) who said effectively that Open Source is un-American and we need to educate the legislators to the danger.

      --
      People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
  • (Score: 2) by Bot on Monday April 09 2018, @10:19PM (4 children)

    by Bot (3902) on Monday April 09 2018, @10:19PM (#664716) Journal

    > Red Hat is one example.

    Red Hat engineers, adding value after value, PC fans at full speed
    too much matter always collapses on itself
    welcome, systemd

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    Account abandoned.
    • (Score: 4, Touché) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Monday April 09 2018, @10:39PM (2 children)

      by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us (6553) on Monday April 09 2018, @10:39PM (#664723) Journal

      Your words not strict form
      Overflow memory blow
      You let bad code in

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    • (Score: 3, Informative) by DannyB on Tuesday April 10 2018, @01:09PM

      by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday April 10 2018, @01:09PM (#664925) Journal

      too much matter always collapses on itself

      Only when the matter is made of four fundamental particles.

      Electrons
      Protons
      Neutrons
      Croutons

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      People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.