Google Adds Flash Sandbox to Chrome Browser

Two weeks after releasing Reader X with its new sandbox security mechanism, Adobe has teamed up with Google to enable a sandboxed version of its Flash software to run in Google Chrome.

The two companies said on Wednesday that Google has released a version of Chrome to its developer channel that includes the sandboxed Flash player. Google and Adobe have been working together on sandboxing technology for several months now, and this is the first result of that collaboration. The current release of Chrome with the sandboxed Flash software runs on Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7. The sandbox used for Flash is slightly different from the original Chrome sandbox, Google said.

Adobe Releases Reader X With Sandbox

Adobe has released the much anticipated new version of its Reader software, Adobe Reader X, which includes the new sandboxing feature meant to prevent exploits against the software from affecting other applications on a PC.

The new version of Reader, one of the more widely deployed applications anywhere, is designed to be a major step forward in security for Adobe customers, many of whom have been critical of the company's recent security track record. The company has been public about its efforts to change that track record and began talking about the upcoming inclusion of a sandbox in Reader several months ago.

Researchers Bypass Internet Explorer Protected Mode

 "A new paper from researchers at Verizon Business identifies a method through which an attacker can bypass Internet Explorer Protected Mode and gain elevated privileges once he's successfully exploited a bug on the system. Protected Mode in Internet Explorer is one of a handful of key security mechanisms that Microsoft has added to Windows in the last few years.

It is often described as a sandbox, in that it is designed to prevent exploitation of a vulnerability in the browser from leading to more persistent compromise of the underlying system. In their research, the Verizon Business team found a method that, when combined with an existing memory-corruption vulnerability in the browser, enables an attacker to bypass Protected Mode and elevate his privileges on the compromised machine (PDF). The technique enables the attacker to move from a relatively un-privileged level to one with higher privileges, giving him complete access to the logged-in user's account."

Microsoft Builds Javascript Malware Detection Tool

"As browser-based exploits and specifically JavaScript malware have shouldered their way to the top of the list of threats, browser vendors have been scrambling to find effective defenses to protect users. Few have been forthcoming, but Microsoft Research has developed a new tool called Zozzle that can be deployed in the browser and can detect JavaScript-based malware on the fly at a very high effectiveness rate. 

 

Zozzle is designed to perform static analysis of JavaScript code on a given site and quickly determine whether the code is malicious and includes an exploit. In order to be effective, the tool must be trained to recognize the elements that are common to malicious JavaScript, and the researchers behind it stress that it works best on de-obfuscated code."