CVE-2024-36052 - RARLAB WinRAR Vulnerability: ANSI Escape Sequence Spoofing in Pre-7.00 Versions on Windows

In yet another vulnerability discovered in WinRAR, a popular file compression, and decompression tool, a new exploit allows attackers to spoof screen output with the cunning use of ANSI escape sequences. This vulnerability is categorized under CVE-2024-36052 and is a completely separate issue from the CVE-2024-33899, previously reported.

Vulnerable Software and Versions

RARLAB WinRAR before 7.00 on Windows systems is susceptible to this particular exploit.

What are ANSI Escape Sequences?

ANSI escape sequences are a method used to control and manipulate the formatting, color, and other aspects of the displayed text on the console in many command-line interfaces. These sequences can be used for legitimate purposes, but also have the potential to be misused by attackers.

Impact

Attackers can exploit this vulnerability to manipulate the output on a user's console or terminal window, which can potentially lead to the obfuscation of their malicious activities or trick users with false information, prompting them to take undesired actions.

Details

The WinRAR vulnerability (CVE-2024-36052) stems from the way it processes the archive files that use ANSI escape sequences. When an attacker creates a specially crafted archive file containing malicious ANSI codes, WinRAR fails to properly sanitize and filter out these escape sequences. Consequently, when the user extracts or reads the contents of the archive, the malicious ANSI escape sequences may be executed and alter the appearance of the console/terminal window. This can lead to various negative outcomes, including the potential for social engineering, as well as confusing and deceiving users.

Proof-of-Concept Code

The following snippet depicts a simple proof-of-concept (PoC) where an ANSI escape sequence is used to change colors and create a potential spoofing scenario:

1) Create a file called "evil.txt"
2) Insert the following ANSI escape sequence into the file:
   ESC;31m (where ESC represents the actual escape character)
3) Add any additional text you want to appear as part of the spoof
4) Compress the file into an archive using WinRAR (version < 7.00)
5) Extract or view the archive using the vulnerable WinRAR version

Mitigation

Users are strongly encouraged to upgrade their WinRAR installations to version 7.00 or later, which no longer exhibits this vulnerability.

Original References

1) The CVE identifier assigned to this vulnerability can be found [here
2) WinRAR's official download page to get the latest version is available here

Stay vigilant and ensure that your tools are updated to protect yourself from possible attacks exploiting this vulnerability. Always keep in mind the risks associated with using outdated software and take necessary precautions to keep your data secure.

Timeline

Published on: 05/21/2024 17:15:09 UTC
Last modified on: 08/20/2024 15:35:18 UTC