[ SOURCE: http://www.secureroot.com/security/advisories/9735748585.html ] -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Tyger Team Security Advisory www.tygerteam.com ============================================================ Intuit Collects information from QuickBooks 2000 users Found: 03/01/00 Published: 10/19/00 Author: Steve Birnbaum URL: http://www.tygerteam.com/advisories.html Status: Vendor contacted. Update available, though some issues are still outstanding. ============================================================ - ------------------------------------------------------------ Overview: - ------------------------------------------------------------ Intuit is collecting information ranging from system configuration to usage from users of its new QuickBooks 2000 and QuickBooks Pro 2000 software. Intuit uses Marimba Castanet, an automated software update technology, to update the QuickBooks 2000 software on their customers' computers automatically. The client does not allow the user to restrict what information is sent to Intuit upon request by the Intuit server. Intuit is able to collect private user information without the user's knowledge. Intuit has also implemented this software in an insecure manner that allows malicious users to hijack it and either obtain information about the user, or install their own files or programs on the user's computer. Intuit provides WWW integration by providing links to web sites. When going to such a link, Intuit is sent both the user's unique serial number and their registration number. This allows the monitoring of software installation and user's usage patterns. - ------------------------------------------------------------ Tested Configuration: - ------------------------------------------------------------ QuickBooks 2000 (Canadian version) running on a dedicated test platform Windows NT 4.0 with service pack 6. No other software, other than Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0, which Quicken both provides and requires, was installed. Some basic tests were conducted with QuickBooks Pro 2000 and it is confirmed to have the same problems. QuickBooks and QuickBooks Pro are the same program. The mode in which it runs depends on the serial number. - ------------------------------------------------------------ Description: - ------------------------------------------------------------ Using two different methods, QuickBooks reports user information back to Intuit. Issue 1 - ------- QuickBooks has integrated the Marimba Castanet (http://www.marimba.com) product into their software. Immediately upon first execution, QuickBooks displays the license agreement. However, before QuickBooks completes its launch and presents the user with the interface, it connects to Intuit's Castanet server (qbmarimbaqw.quicken.com) on port 80. Below is the start of the first http session. It shows the initial connection to the Castanet server and the sending of information regarding the configuration of the host running QuickBooks, such as the operating system version. The meaning of the other strings that are seen below, such as the reference to "properties.txt" and "any/any" are currently unknown. - ----------------------------------------------------------------- qb2000-pc.1046 -> qbmarimbaqw.quicken.com.http over TCP POST /UpdateDirChanQB HTTP/1.0. User-Agent: null. Connection: Keep-Alive. Content-length: 391. Pragma: no-cache. Content-type: application/marimba. Request-type: update/13. . - ----------------------------------------------------------------- qbmarimbaqw.quicken.com.http -> qb2000-pc.1046 over TCP - ----------------------------------------------------------------- qb2000-pc.1046 -> qbmarimbaqw.quicken.com.http over TCP ........%.......qbmarimbaqw.quicken.com...P.....(.. update.sdk....1..L_L....US..L_C....en.. Windows NT..x86..4.0..en_US....UpdateDirChanQB........DATA=AUC01QFN00000 21911004000011501002 0000000000 0000000005200000057010300000000000000000 05701n ewfeatures 00000000 0000................ - ----------------------------------------------------------------- - ----------------------------------------------------------------- qb2000-pc.1047 -> qbmarimbaqw.quicken.com.http over TCP - ----------------------------------------------------------------- qbmarimbaqw.quicken.com.http -> qb2000-pc.1046 over TCP HTTP/1.0 200 Reply follows. Server: Marimba-Transmitter/4.0.3. Content-type: application/marimba. Expires: 0. Pragma: no-cache. Connection: Keep-Alive. Content-length: 140. . .........%...B....B..A....A..segment....any/any....T..........UpdateDirC han.QFNz...0..kE.@.6.f....D.....properties.txt.X+.X.<.....7......p.. - ----------------------------------------------------------------- Next, QuickBooks connects again to the Castanet server and initiates a request for updated information. The following capture gives an indication of the control that the server holds over the client. It includes the receipt of various configuration instructions. The commands "desktop.shortcut" and "install.inactive=ignore" raised our suspicions considerably. The explanation we were later given by Marimba via Intuit is that these options are part of the full version of Castanet which were not removed from the more limited SDK software that Intuit uses. We were told that while the server has not had this code removed and it still sends it as part of the handshaking, the SDK client has had the code to process them removed. Therefore, we were told by Intuit that these specific commands are ignored. - ----------------------------------------------------------------- qb2000-pc.1047 -> qbmarimbaqw.quicken.com.http over TCP POST /UpdateDirChanQB HTTP/1.0. User-Agent: null. Connection: Keep-Alive. Content-length: 113. Pragma: no-cache. Content-type: application/marimba. Request-type: getfiles/3. . - ----------------------------------------------------------------- qbmarimbaqw.quicken.com.http -> qb2000-pc.1046 over TCP HTTP/1.0 200 Reply follows. Server: Marimba-Transmitter/4.0.3. Content-type: application/marimba. Expires: 0. Pragma: no-cache. . .......... ...........z...0..kE.@.6.f........DAUS000000000000000000 00QFN0000030111004010011501002 0000000000 0000000005200000139010301000000000000000 11801newfeatures n .edition 000000213dff621c4a11b6c0 2b10fe8c8394cd92..0000000000000000000000002000_01_14_17_21_25. ....X+.X.<.....7..........pcapabilities=none desktop.shortcut=false extension=channel install.inactive=ignore locale=any macresourceforks=false mimetype=application/x-castanet-channel name=UpdateDirChanQB platform=any publish.time=944543763933 title=UpdateDirChanQB type=Data update.action=ignore update.active=never update.inactive=weekly update.schedule=every 1 weeks on sun update at 04:00AM - ----------------------------------------------------------------- There are further exchanges between QuickBooks 2000 and the Castanet server. During these exchanges files are sent and installed without user approval. In fact, the user isn't even aware that this entire exchange is taking place. We contacted Marimba to find out what their software is capable of. They informed us that the full version of Castanet is able to retrieve information such as, but not limited to IP addresses, user names and host names. The exact information that is obtained depends on what their customer configures the server to request. Marimba explicitly stated that there is no way for the user to prevent certain types of information from being sent if the server requests it. We were informed that there is an additional module (which Intuit has not purchased) that will perform a full disk scan of the computer running the client software and send the output to the Castanet server. We were told that Intuit uses the much more limited SDK version, which cannot perform this full disk scan. According to Marimba, the SDK version is limited in the host information it can retrieve. It is also limited in its ability to download only to one specific directory within the QuickBooks directory tree. The information it has access to includes the IP address, OS name, version and architecture, the locale and time zone. Even though the list of information retrieved is smaller than the full version, users still have no ability to control what is sent within that set. On the other hand, Marimba has also stated that their software is capable of working with an SSL encrypted session. The client software can store the server's key and would reject any attempt from someone to represent himself as the real Castanet server. This would also prevent hijacking of an already established session. Furthermore, they support the ability to digitally sign each file being sent. Castanet seems like a very nice product for an enterprise network. However, we question Intuit's use of Castanet in this environment. Regardless, Intuit has not activated the most basic security features in the Castanet software. This results in the user being at risk of session hijacking. If someone is able to hijack a session, they could install programs that create back doors to allow an intruder to take full control of the computer. These sessions raise a list of issues: 1) Intuit knows the identity of the user connecting. They can theoretically target specific files to specific users, such as a program to monitor the user's computer or network, even behind a firewall. 2) Since the sessions are not secured, the session can be hijacked and a malicious user can insert their own files or backdoors onto the user's system. Intuit has chosen not to encrypt the sessions, thereby creating this risk. 3) The user has no control over what information is retrieved from their system. They must simply hope that Intuit won't do something to violate their privacy, and that no malicious users will hijack a legitimate session. 4) Users are unaware of what information is being collected and for what purpose it is being used. Issue 2 - ------- QuickBooks 2000 is integrated with Microsoft Internet Explorer 5. Many of the windows in QuickBooks are HTML generated on the fly. With the seamless web integration, Intuit has created certain text items within the GUI that are in fact links to web sites, and not buttons, to perform local program functions. These links are not labeled as such and appear no different than HTML links that open other local windows. This in itself is not such a security problem. The issue lies in the method with which Intuit directs the user to a web site. The following is the URL that is accessed when the user clicks on the text of a reminder that the program refers to as an "alert". The example is linked to by a warning with regard to a periodic tax payment due to the government. http://redirect.quickbooks.com/redirect/reg=****-****-****/serial=####-###-####-####/?http://www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/menu-e.html The '*' replace the registration number provided by Intuit. If you have not registered, the value in the URL is "Unregistered". This is a unique number identifying a particular customer of Intuit. The '#' replace the serial number found on the back of the manual. This is a unique number identifying a specific copy of the software. When you register your purchased copy of QuickBooks with Intuit after supplying them with your detailed information, you receive a registration number in return. Even if you buy the software, you can only run it a certain number of times without entering a registration number. So unless you provide them with false information when registering, Intuit knows exactly what actions their users are performing that take them to Internet sites. - ------------------------------------------------------------ Vendor Response: - ------------------------------------------------------------ Once we were able to make contact with the appropriate people within Intuit, they seemed quite receptive to our concerns. Since first contacting Intuit on March 14, 2000, they have implemented the following changes with the US R5 and Canadian R6 updates to QuickBooks 2000: 1) Users installing the R5 and R6 updates are presented with an html window the next time they run the application explaining the use of the Automatic Update feature but also including information on how to disable it. 2) Added a top-level item on the help menu "About Automatic Update," which displays a secondary page used for the previously described html window, and also provides detail about the Automatic Update feature. This is more complete than in the previous help index. 3) All, rather than most, html links to Internet sites are now marked with a lightning bolt. However, users are not told clearly what this means unless they click on the relevant help link. We've suggested putting this information in a splash screen on startup, or a one-time notification on clicking such a link, and Intuit has said it will include information about the html links in the welcome pages in its next version of QuickBooks. 4) Instead of sending serial numbers in readable text to their redirect server, they now perform a two-way hash of the information using a proprietary algorithm. This is basic obfuscation. This is not optimum, but Intuit acted to protect against transient sniffing and will use an MD5 one-way hash in the next version of QuickBooks. 5) We found that when running the installer for the update, a connection to Intuit's Castanet server was made if that option was enabled in QuickBooks 2000. This appears to be an unintentional side effect of installing the Automatic Update software itself. As the software installs itself into Windows, it starts itself up the default way; i.e., to check for available updates. However, after installing itself, the software quits, which will terminate any connection it may have initiated. Intuit believes that it's unlikely that, even on a slow computer, any such connection would remain open long enough for any content to actually be downloaded to the computer. 6) Intuit is planning to switch to the industry standard, highest security level SSL for all Castanet updates beginning with the next version of QuickBooks. The Castanet SDK software embedded in QuickBooks 2000 currently supports SSL enablement and provides other security features. However, Intuit believes that updating QuickBooks 2000 to enable SSL would risk key functionality in the product and risks adversely affecting existing users. 7) We're still not happy with the auto-update feature, although Intuit has taken steps to inform users of it and gives them the option to turn it off. Initially, we believed there was too much power in the Castanet client that can be turned on by the server. Based upon information provided by Intuit, this was found to be inaccurate. QuickBooks 2000 does not install any software to customers' PCs that would allow their hard drives to be scanned or their hard drive file listings to be hijacked by a rogue server. In addition, Intuit was told by Marimba that the hard drive scanning capability in the full feature Castanet product (i.e., not the Castanet SDK used in QuickBooks 2000) is of limited scope. Since this does not affect QuickBooks, which uses only the Castanet SDK, we did not pursue this avenue to find out what scanning is available in the full version. We assume that such a version would be used by an enterprise network administrator for whom full drive scanning capabilities for client machines would be acceptable. We found that while Intuit is ultimately responsible for what their software does, they seemed genuinely concerned about user privacy and security. For more information on Intuit's fixes, and for upgrade information, refer to http://www.quickbooks.com/support/updates.html - ----------------------------------------------------------- Quick Solution/Workaround: - ------------------------------------------------------------ Turn off the Automatic Update feature. Information about how to do this is found in the help menu of QuickBooks 2000. Or, use Intuit's QuickBooks 2000/QuickBooks Pro 2000 on a computer that is a dedicated, standalone computer with no modem or network interface. The computer should not have Internet connectivity capability at any time. Paul English of Intuit says that Intuit feels that they offer a number of beneficial services via the web such as payroll and online banking and ask that users read their response document to make an informed decision. - ------------------------------------------------------------ Long-term Solution: - ------------------------------------------------------------ Customers should contact Intuit through their web site at http://www.intuit.com/corporate/quickbooks2000privacy/ and request that this issue be resolved immediately. The customer service or pay-per-use support representative you speak with may try to tell you that no method other than the Castanet automated updates is available for software updates, or that they are not sure. We received such a response from both departments. However, an additional phone call to their customer service department led to the confirmation that the updates are available via FTP on the Internet and they do indeed mail software updates via diskette to customers if requested. The quick solution of using QuickBooks on a dedicated computer with no Internet capability is also sufficient for the long-term. Intuit will also be introducing additional security and privacy enhancements in the next version of the software. - ------------------------------------------------------------ Additional Information: - ------------------------------------------------------------ Contacting Tyger Team: E-Mail: Steve Birnbaum Patrick Naubert Phone: +1 613 294-2390 Postal address: 4130 Baseline Road RR2 Gloucester, Ontario K0A 2Y0 Canada -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.3ia Charset: noconv iQEVAwUBOfYVXANowu66bCy5AQHB9gf/ecovAErbo74DHxhThjO748T1kY40w4LO tQ88IxZf8qpCk+ykUs90kKFwwSnPL+qKBvkpylKE4/Pfk+vOLXoRmMLTcLgoFfbP N06VYUVkxb74K6awgc8iGwIK+qEmhsY9zdMUU5s4IIwuG5kHJ1WwmSg+0/OoAW/z C6yOmz50Ahpak8X1liCRN5MLqVElNuY8WczC6J1UjtH7gCGEPQpNW/Co1kuA0v4l XjKXOK1DbD0xxVkpH97aiEcMWTWkbPTI40rSJvft3i6tHz6Z82upA79jhFUoC1yk 3T9FuOPyQVJHPWqBwdoT49Nw78B2bNqyExBYiCIq9MsVg6warHqyVA== =BE0O -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----