Warp2Search.net » News » May 2003 » Internet Explorer Crashes Using Simple HTML Code

Big thx to NeoWin for this information.

Just recently a piece of code has been making its way round the internet that allows people to open others CD drives by simply getting them to vist a website. Annoying as that was there is another piece of code which isn't even really all that advanced that will crash Internet Explorer with the error "Unhandled exception in iexplore.exe (SHLWAPI.DLL): 0xC0000005: Access Violation". Shockingly this line code is very easy to implement into any HTML. The bug posted at BugTraq on the 21st of April is now spreading around the internet, so watch out for what URLs you click on from friends and in emails for now. The line of code is literally :

Read More for code and a test page which causes a crash.



---------------
< html>
< form>
< input type crash>
< /form>
< /html>
--------------

According to the post at BugTraq this line of code can also crash Outlook, Frontpage and all other Microsoft software that use shlwapi.dll to render HTML. Although this code is simply amazing it is simply a null pointer overwrite so it is not easily exploitable. Get more information at BugTraq post.

Test your internet explorer and other browsers if they crash by clicking here.

(I have tested it myself, no other malfunctions or data lost occured on my system. Try at your own risk.)

Dajger3668 Unregistered

#43425 Posted on: 05/02/2003 12:15 PM To fix this problem, use Internet Explorer 3.x

nemesis1 Unregistered

#43426 Posted on: 05/02/2003 12:24 PM simple fix: don't use IE

chris_exe Unregistered

#43427 Posted on: 05/02/2003 12:54 PM It crashes my IE alright. Trouble is IE is the best browser, i know some use opera and netscape (?) but IE is the best one, even if its not perfect.

psymind Unregistered

#43428 Posted on: 05/02/2003 02:03 PM I use mozilla for two year now and I never had more problems like this. And the popups killer in mozilla is great.

apathy Junior Member Posts: 1 Joined: 2003-09-26

#43429 Posted on: 05/02/2003 02:18 PM Indeed, I use the netscape branded version of Mozilla and have no problems whatsoever and yes there's nothing like having a built in pop-up stopper. I don't ever remember having my browser crash for any reason. I tried Opera, it was ok but it just isn't as good as mozilla/netscape...

Lithorus Unregistered

#43432 Posted on: 05/02/2003 04:27 PM Guess you haven't heard of mozilla/firebird

D3r3v1l Unregistered

#43433 Posted on: 05/02/2003 05:58 PM lol i wonder how people find this stuff

hlloyge Junior Member Posts: 2 Joined: 2003-06-01

#43445 Posted on: 05/03/2003 11:13 AM Opera v7.10, Build 2840 doesn't crash. Interesting. Netscape communicator 4.8 stands still. And it's an old one. Guys, just admit it - the only good thing about using IE is that you don't have to use brain to configure it - it runs out of the box. How well it runs... eh, that is the subject for some other discussion.

JLP Unregistered

#43447 Posted on: 05/03/2003 12:46 PM Haha. IE the best. Don't make me lough. Mozilla/FireBird is much better and so is Opera.

JLP Unregistered

#43448 Posted on: 05/03/2003 12:51 PM I use Mozilla for quite some time now. A friend told me about it about 2 years ago and I never looked back at archaic, insecure and nonstandard Internet Exploder.

Warp2Search.net » News » May 2003 » Internet Explorer Crashes Using Simple HTML Code