Google patches one security hole, but another surfaces

pr0digal jenius · Oct 22, 2004, 01:00 AM

Search engine darling Google (Profile, Products, Articles) Inc. has patched a hole in its search engine the could have allowed malicious hackers to modify the content of the Google search results page or silently modify search results, but a new hole may have already appeared.

The vulnerability concerns the Google Custom WebSearch service, which allows third-party Web portals and other Web sites to use Google's servers to search content on their Web site. A flaw in Google's Web servers allowed malicious hackers to insert javascript instead of links to image files, allowing them to alter the appearance of the Google search results page or steal search data. After being alerted to the hole, Google fixed the vulnerability, said Nathan Tyler, a Google spokesman.

"Google was recently alerted to a potential security vulnerability affecting users of our website. We have since fixed this vulnerability, and all current and future Google.com users are protected," Tyler said.

The company is also aware of a second vulnerability, discovered by U.K. security firm Netcraft Ltd. and will be fixing its systems shortly to remove the vulnerability, he said.

The Custom WebSearch vulnerability was first reported in the online security newsgroup Bugtraq. Google's servers fail to validate URLs (uniform resource locators) for image files to make sure they actually point to images. Malicious hackers could trigger the vulnerability using a Google custom search form, or even through a customized HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) link, by feeding Google's servers computer script instead of an image URL, according to the notice's author, who used the name "Jim Ley."

According to the notice's author, the vulnerability has existed for around two years without being fixed by Google, which was notified twice of the hole. The recent release of a desktop search tool from Google worsened the impact of the flaw, allowing hackers to leverage the Desktop Search feature to search for and steal content, such as passwords or personal financial information, from files on the local hard drive.
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Source/Read More: InfoWorld

Oct 22, 2004, 01:00 AM	#1
pr0digal jenius Delete Me Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 14,648 Rep Power: 0	Google patches one security hole, but another surfaces Search engine darling Google (Profile, Products, Articles) Inc. has patched a hole in its search engine the could have allowed malicious hackers to modify the content of the Google search results page or silently modify search results, but a new hole may have already appeared. The vulnerability concerns the Google Custom WebSearch service, which allows third-party Web portals and other Web sites to use Google's servers to search content on their Web site. A flaw in Google's Web servers allowed malicious hackers to insert javascript instead of links to image files, allowing them to alter the appearance of the Google search results page or steal search data. After being alerted to the hole, Google fixed the vulnerability, said Nathan Tyler, a Google spokesman. "Google was recently alerted to a potential security vulnerability affecting users of our website. We have since fixed this vulnerability, and all current and future Google.com users are protected," Tyler said. The company is also aware of a second vulnerability, discovered by U.K. security firm Netcraft Ltd. and will be fixing its systems shortly to remove the vulnerability, he said. The Custom WebSearch vulnerability was first reported in the online security newsgroup Bugtraq. Google's servers fail to validate URLs (uniform resource locators) for image files to make sure they actually point to images. Malicious hackers could trigger the vulnerability using a Google custom search form, or even through a customized HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) link, by feeding Google's servers computer script instead of an image URL, according to the notice's author, who used the name "Jim Ley." According to the notice's author, the vulnerability has existed for around two years without being fixed by Google, which was notified twice of the hole. The recent release of a desktop search tool from Google worsened the impact of the flaw, allowing hackers to leverage the Desktop Search feature to search for and steal content, such as passwords or personal financial information, from files on the local hard drive. ___________________ Source/Read More: InfoWorld