Microsoft has released a security advisory to address a vulnerability in VBScript. The advisory indicates that this vulnerability exists in the way that VBScript interacts with Windows Help files when using Internet Explorer. By convincing a user to view a specially crafted HTML document (web page, HTML email, or email attachment) with Internet Explorer and to press the F1 key, an attacker could run arbitrary code with the privileges of the user running the application.
US-CERT encourages users and administrators to do the following to help mitigate the risks:
- Review Microsoft Security Advisory 981169.
- Review the Microsoft Security Research & Defense blog entry regarding this issue.
- Review US-CERT Vulnerability Note VU#612021.
- Refrain from pressing the F1 key when prompted by a website.
- Restrict access to the Windows Help System.
US-CERT will provide additional information as it becomes available.
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