Peer-to-peer client uTorrent fixes serious vulnerability

by Jeremy Kirk
Be the first to comment | I like it!
Tags: BitTorrent, p2p, patches, vulnerabilities
More »
on this topic
August 15, 2008, 08:26 AM —  IDG News Service — 

One of the most popular programs used by some to illegally share files under copyright has patched a serious software vulnerability.

The problem affects the P-to-P (peer-to-peer) program uTorrent as well as BitTorrent Mainline, another program based on the uTorrent code. It has been classified as "highly critical," the second most severe ranking of risk, by Secunia, a security vendor in Denmark.

Both programs use the BitTorrent protocol, which has become the most popular method of file sharing worldwide, according to iPoque, a company based in Leipzig, Germany, that specializes in traffic-management appliances for ISPs. The programs collect pieces of a particular file from other computers around the world and assemble it.

The vulnerability can be exploited if a user downloads a malicious torrent, which is a text file that coordinates the downloading of content. The problem causes a stack overflow, which can allow an attacker to upload other malicious software to a PC.

The bug was in the software for at least two years, wrote Rhys Kidd, who is credited with the find and has written a short paper describing the problem.

Users should upgrade to the latest version, 1.8, which also includes support for the Internet Protocol v6, which increases the number of IP addresses available on the Internet. Utorrent will also prompt users to download the upgrade. The latest version of BitTorrent is available on its Web site.

IDG News Service

I like it!
Post a comment
The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
Free books

Essential JavaFX
Get started building rich Web apps quickly with an introduction to the power of JavaFX key features -- scene node graphs, nodes as components, the coordinate system, layout options, colors and gradients, custom classes with inheritance, animation, binding, and event handlers.Enter now!

The Nomadic Developer
Consulting can be hugely rewarding, but it's easy to fail if you are unprepared. To succeed, you need a mentor who knows the lay of the land. Aaron Erickson is your mentor, and this is your guidebook. Enter now!

Featured Sponsor
Case Study: AISO grows its "green" business

AISO founders envisioned a Web hosting company that was environmentally friendly. While the company employed energy-efficient innovations like solar panels, its infrastructure produced unacceptable power and cooling requirements. Find out how AISO leveraged AMD technology to overcome their challenge in this case study white paper.

Download this white paper »
Myth of the Million Dollar Database

In this whitepaper, Scalar explores the opportunity to change the landscape with respect to mission critical databases built around Oracle. Leveraging technologies such as Linux, high-end commodity processing power and Oracle RAC technology to architect, design, build and maintain database infrastructure that delivers maximum availability, reliability and performance at a fraction of traditional cost.

Download this white paper »
Success Story: Weather.com handles whatever nature serves up

On a typical day, weather.com, the Web site for The Weather Channel in Atlanta, serves up between 15 million and 20 million page views. But in September 2004, when back-to-back hurricanes ransacked Florida, the peak traffic on one day more than tripled: over 70 million page views by more than 7 million unique visitors. Read the full success story now.

Download this white paper »
Marketplace