File-name flaw threatens PGP users
Source: CNet News
For more than a decade, the United States government classified encryption technology as a weapon. Now that label might actually apply.
Security-consulting firm Foundstone said Thursday that e-mail messages encrypted with the Pretty Good Privacy program can be used as digital bullets to attack and take control of a victim's computer.
Because of a flaw in the way PGP handles long file names in an encrypted archive, an attacker could "take control of the recipient's computer, elevating his or her privileges on the organization's network," Foundstone said in an advisory.
The company classified the vulnerability as a high risk "due to the trusting nature of encrypted attachments in e-mail, its relative ease of exploitation and the large amount of corporations and military and government agencies that rely on PGP encryption for secure communication."
The flaw affects PGP Corporate Edition 7.1.0 and 7.1.1. Software maker Network Associates has posted a patch on its site. The company recently sold all PGP assets to a start-up, PGP Corp., but appears to still be providing support for the program. Neither company could be reached for comment.
