full-disclosure - RE: IE, Firefox, Opera DoS (*not* a DoS, not even close)

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From: steve_r125 at yahoo.co.uk (Steve R)
Subject: RE: IE, Firefox, Opera DoS (*not* a DoS, not even close)

 --- GulfTech Security <security@...ftech.org> wrote: 
 
> Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't this just an
> exhaustion of resources and
> not a "vulnerability" at all? You could have it
> write text to the page
> instead of iframes and you get the same results
> because the JavaScript goes
> into an infinite loop.
> 
> Does having your 486 freeze up when you attempt to
> open a 700mb DivX file
> constitute as a vulnerability of the media software
> or operating system? I
> think not. Here is a "one liner" I wrote that does
> the same thing, but I do
> not in ANY way consider this a vulnerabity.
> 
> <script> var i = 1; while (i) </script>
> 
> James

To put it bluntly - you are not wrong. Exhaustion of
resources ~may~ seem to exhibit a DoS ie you cannot
use the "service" because it has been "denied" by the
effect of the cause of the deliberate exhaustion of
those same resources upon which the "service" depends.
FYI (and anyone else interested) I once wrote a
program to test dynamic runtime control creation when
I was getting into OOP VB; don't blame me, blame my
boredom ;)
The program opened with an initial form that had a
command button with 'Start' as its label. When you
clicked said button it would reproduce itself on
screen
using a loop to the effect of:
    Create form_object(my_form_class)
    Invoke form_object.show method
    Repeat ad infinitum
A windows message/spy tool I was running clocked up
~38000 before *itself* locked up (forms were still
being created) around 10 secs later the machine froze
until reboot.
Conclusion: malicious use (albeit only testing) of GUI
object creation thus exhausting GUI resourses thus
leading to lock up.
Lesson learned: *ANY* piece of software that uses data
as an input can be made to exhaust the resources given
to it by the OS if those same resources cannot handle
the extent of the size of that input whether it's a
huge file (usually in the order of GB/TB) or as a
series of object creations, as long as that series is
invoked to show on screen and not just in RAM waiting
to be used.
BTW for thosed that missed it the simple fix to my
program is to place a form_object.destroy (my wrapper
method names you understand) method call between
form_object.show and the end of the loop, thus getting
rid of the same object after it's been created
(freeing it's resources) but *before* another is.

Best regards
Steve






	
	
		
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